Does politics being out too much of the aggressive instinct in some businesspeople?
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Absurdly Driven looks at the world of business with a skeptical eye and a firmly rooted tongue in cheek.
When you hear the phrase “tech millionaire,” you often think of slightly nerdy types whose aggression is on the passive side.
Greg Gianforte may be a little different. On Wednesday, the founder of RightNow Technologies — a customer relationship management software company since sold to Oracle — was charged with misdemeanor assault after allegedly wrapping his hands round a reporter’s neck and body-slamming him to the ground.
Gianforte, you see, is the Republican candidate for Congress in Montana’s special election. He is endorsed by the famously bellicose Donald Trump.
The allegedly bellicose events that occurred on Wednesday, however, were not only recorded by the reporter in question — the Guardian’s Ben Jacobs — but witnessed by three members of Fox News.
Fox News’ Alicia Acuna reported that she and her team saw Jacobs enter a room at Gianforte for Congress Bozeman Headquarters, place a voice recorder in front of Gianforte and ask a question.
After Gianforte deflected the question and Jacobs persisted, says Acuna, “Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him. Faith, Keith and I watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the reporter. As Gianforte moved on top of Jacobs, he began yelling something to the effect of, ‘I’m sick and tired of this!'”
Jacobs’ recording appears to corroborate Acuna’s account.
“To be clear, at no point did any of us who witnessed this assault see Jacobs show any form of physical aggression toward Gianforte,” added Acuna.
The Gianforte campaign, however, offered a different hue: “Tonight, as Greg was giving a separate interview in a private office, the Guardian’s Ben Jacobs entered the office without permission, aggressively shoved a recorder in Greg’s face, and began asking badgering questions. Jacobs was asked to leave. After asking Jacobs to lower the recorder, Jacobs declined. Greg then attempted to grab the phone that was pushed in his face. Jacobs grabbed Greg’s wrist, and spun away from Greg, pushing them both to the ground. It’s unfortunate that this aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist created this scene at our campaign volunteer BBQ.”
Jacobs himself told the Guardian: “He took me to the ground,” Jacobs said by phone from the back of an ambulance. “I think he wailed on me once or twice … He got on me and I think he hit me … This is the strangest thing that has ever happened to me in reporting on politics.”
Yes, l let’s talk strange. What is it about businesspeople and politics?
In his presidential campaign, Donald Trump took the concept of combativeness, armed himself with bazookas that fired (what he considered) bon mots and splattered US politics with the sort of aggression normally reserved for Tarantino movies.
He plastered epithets over his rivals — Crooked Hillary, Lyin’ Ted — and now smears the media as Fake News. He even suggested that if he shot someone on Fifth Avenue, he wouldn’t lose any supporters.
Is running your own company in fact a poor training ground for a politician? Are founders and CEOs too used to getting their own way and therefore ill-suited to the darker arts of tolerance and doublespeak?
Voting in Montana takes place on Thursday. How much this incident might affect the result is unclear. But might a little alleged strong-arming from a businessman candidate actually appeal to some Montana voters? It’s certainly different behavior from your usual tech millionaire.
More tech millionaires appear to be thinking of entering the political sphere. Venture capitalist Sam Altman is reportedly considering running for governor of California and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is also rumored to be polishing up his image for a future in politics.
Should they embrace a little muscle in order to get there? That would make for interesting YouTube videos.
The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.