--- title: Republican Convention: Read Peter Thiel's Speech description: Silicon Valley Billionaire Peter Thiel was the first openly gay Republican in 16 years to speak at the Republican National Convention. canonical: https://time.com/4417679/republican-convention-peter-thiel-transcript/ author: Will Drabold article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-22T02:55:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-06T09:43:00.030Z article:section: Politics og:title: Read Peter Thiel's Speech at the Republican Convention og:description: "I am proud to be gay. I am proud to be a Republican." og:url: https://time.com/4417679/republican-convention-peter-thiel-transcript/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9bb243b625f0620d/69889eb9f887dc800fe96bbc/peter-thiel-donald-trump-republican-national-convention-rnc-221.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4096 og:image:height: 2304 og:image:alt: TIMEPOL RNC og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Read Peter Thiel's Speech at the Republican Convention twitter:description: "I am proud to be gay. I am proud to be a Republican." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9bb243b625f0620d/69889eb9f887dc800fe96bbc/peter-thiel-donald-trump-republican-national-convention-rnc-221.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Read Peter Thiel's Speech at the Republican National Convention > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=e4cafd9f-3e4f-44ab-8b3b-a61774a66297&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Watch Peter Thiel Speak at GOP Convention [Watch (HLS stream): Watch Peter Thiel Speak at GOP Convention](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/lsfpFSHU.m3u8) (1:57)  _Published 2016-07-22. Peter Thiel is gay, a Silicon Valley billionaire and a Trump delegate_ by [Will Drabold](https://time.com/author/will-drabold/) ## Will Drabold Jul 22, 2016 2:55 AM UTC by [Will Drabold](https://time.com/author/will-drabold/) ## Will Drabold Jul 22, 2016 2:55 AM UTC Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel spoke about American prosperity at the Republican national convention Thursday. The PayPal founder and Facebook investor was the first openly gay Republican in 16 years to speak at a GOP convention, a fact he noted briefly. “Of course, every American has a unique identity,” he said. “I am proud to be gay. I am proud to be a Republican. But most of all I am proud to be an American.” **Read More:** [_How Donald Trump Courted Gay Voters at the Convention_](http://time.com/4418475/republican-convention-peter-thiel-lgbt-gay-rights/) Read Thiel’s remarks as prepared for delivery: --- > “” --- ## Transcript I build companies, and I support people who are building new things, from social networks to rocket ships. I'm not a politician, but neither is Donald Trump. He is a builder, and it's time to rebuild America. Back when my parents came to America looking for that dream They found it right here in Cleveland. They brought me here as a one year old and this is where I became an American the future felt limitless. But today, our government is broken. When I was a kid, the great debate was about how to defeat the Soviet Union, now we are told that the great debate is about who gets to use which bathroom This is a distraction from our real problems. Who cares? Of course, every American has a unique identity. I am proud to be gay. I am proud to be a Republican. But most of all, I am proud to be an American. [ APPLAUSE ] I don't pretend to agree with every plan in our party's platform but fake culture words only distract us from our economic decline And nobody in this race is being honest about it except Donald Trump. When Donald Trump asked us make America great again, he's not suggesting a return to the past. He's running to lead us back to that bright future. Tonight I urge all of my fellow Americans to stand up and vote for Donald Trump. [ APPLAUSE ] Thank you thank you very much thanks. 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