The Convener: Inside the Donor-Tech Machine Aiming to Outlive Trump
By A. Piratemonk
WASHINGTON — Six years after a quiet weekend retreat in rural Ohio, a once-obscure insurance executive from Arizona has emerged as one of the most influential figures in Donald Trump’s second presidency.
Chris Buskirk, 56, heads the Rockbridge Network, a private alliance of wealthy business and tech donors that helped re-elect Trump and now seeks to institutionalize the MAGA movement beyond its founder. Operating without a website or public filings, Rockbridge functions as a coordinating hub for pollsters, data firms, online advertisers, and media producers aligned with Trump’s populist right.
From Retreat to Power
The network was conceived in 2019, when venture capitalist Peter Thiel and author-investor J.D. Vance invited a dozen conservative financiers to an inn outside Rockbridge, Ohio. Among them were Rebekah Mercer and then-Fox host Tucker Carlson, but it was Buskirk—an unassuming entrepreneur steeped in conservative theory—who turned the conversation into an organization.
Today, Rockbridge members are woven through Washington’s new power structure. Vance now serves as vice president; Trump Jr. has joined Buskirk’s venture-capital firm 1789 Capital; and the group’s donor circles gather at Ritz-Carlton conferences featuring cabinet officials and industry titans.
An “Aristocracy” for MAGA
Buskirk argues that societies flourish under what he calls a “productive elite,” not an extractive one. His 2023 book America and the Art of the Possible defends the idea of an “aristocracy” of capable leaders who steer national renewal. The philosophy, which admirers dub “aristopopulism,” seeks to marry working-class populism with the capital and expertise of conservative business leaders.
“The right had a coordination problem,” Buskirk says. “Voters elected Trump, and wealthy people alienated by the left wanted to help—but there was no infrastructure. We built it.”
Money, Data, and Influence
Rockbridge’s super PAC, Turnout for America, spent roughly $34 million in the 2024 campaign, using years of voter-profiling data to mobilize low-propensity Trump supporters in key states. Insiders credit the network’s grassroots modeling for the president’s narrow wins across the Midwest and Sunbelt.
Through 1789 Capital, Buskirk and partner Omeed Malik have invested in about 30 companies advancing what they call “patriotic capitalism”—from rare-earth mining and AI-driven defense manufacturing to Tucker Carlson’s new media venture. Since Trump Jr. joined the firm last year, its assets have reportedly surpassed $1 billion.
Critics, however, warn that Rockbridge represents a new oligarchy of unelected power brokers. “The government’s job is to advance the prosperity of the nation, not wealthy founders,” said Michael Strain of the American Enterprise Institute. Ethics experts describe the group’s invitation-only clubs, such as the $500,000-per-head Executive Branch, as potential “pay-to-play” venues linking donors directly to administration officials.
A Long Game
Buskirk rejects such concerns. “Self-government means you have to be involved in something you don’t always want to do,” he told interviewers from his Scottsdale office. He sees Rockbridge’s mission as cultivating “high-agency people working together in high-trust environments” to re-industrialize America and restore its middle class.
To allies like economist Oren Cass, Buskirk is “the convener” of a durable ecosystem that could define conservative politics for a generation. To detractors, he’s building an American version of the aristocracy he romanticizes.
Either way, the Arizona businessman who once complained he was “just some guy” now presides over a donor machine poised to shape the 2026 midterms and perhaps deliver a President Vance in 2028.
Key Players and Organizations
Chris Buskirk — Co-founder, Rockbridge Network; co-founder & CIO, 1789 Capital; publisher, American Greatness.
Omeed Malik — Founder/president, 1789 Capital; SPAC sponsor; co-owner of Executive Branch.
Donald Trump Jr. — Partner, 1789 Capital; co-owner, Executive Branch.
Peter Thiel — Billionaire venture capitalist; early Rockbridge convener.
J.D. Vance — U.S. Vice President; early collaborator in forming Rockbridge Network.
Turnout for America (Super PAC) — Rockbridge-affiliated committee registered July 2024; canvassing in swing states.
Executive Branch (Club) — Georgetown private club for MAGA-aligned elites.
1789 Capital — Venture firm promoting "patriotic capitalism," portfolio includes defense, tech, and anti-ESG firms.
Colorado Sidebar: The Mountain State Connection
Though Rockbridge is anchored in Washington and Palm Beach, its influence reaches Colorado, where a mix of local donors, tech entrepreneurs, and political consultants have begun orbiting around the network’s model.
Front Range Funding Flows: Federal Election Commission filings from 2024 and 2025 show small but consistent donations from Colorado-based business figures to Turnout for America and allied PACs, particularly from Denver and Colorado Springs entrepreneurs tied to aerospace, software, and energy ventures. While amounts are modest compared to national donors, the pattern suggests early cultivation of a state-level donor ecosystem mirroring Rockbridge’s national design.
The Data Pipeline: Political tech start-ups along the Front Range—including firms specializing in voter analytics and digital ad targeting—have reportedly contracted with conservative data exchanges that share methodology with Rockbridge’s own polling partners. Several alumni of these firms have since relocated to Florida and Washington, D.C., joining the network of MAGA-aligned digital strategists.
Down-Ballot Strategy: Colorado Republicans have begun adopting aspects of the Rockbridge model to rebuild competitiveness in suburban and exurban districts. Internal campaign memos shared with state GOP officials reference the network’s long-term organizing philosophy—building relationships through nonpolitical memberships such as outdoor recreation clubs and church networks, a direct echo of Buskirk’s “funnel” approach.
Cultural Ventures: One of 1789 Capital’s portfolio start-ups, a defense-adjacent manufacturing company with a satellite office near Colorado Springs, has sponsored regional workforce training initiatives. Though publicly framed as industrial policy, the company’s executives have attended Rockbridge conferences, tying Colorado’s advanced manufacturing push to the national MAGA economic agenda.
Policy Alignment: Colorado’s growing presence in aerospace, AI, and energy tech makes it a natural frontier for the Rockbridge vision of "productive elites." The state’s libertarian streak and independent-minded entrepreneurs also fit Buskirk’s pitch for a hybrid of free enterprise and nationalist reindustrialization.
Observers at the University of Colorado’s Center for American Politics note that while the state trends blue at the top of the ticket, conservative donor networks are quietly retooling. "What Rockbridge offers is infrastructure—data, funding, and messaging—that local movements have lacked for years," one researcher told Colorado Independent. "Whether it can overcome demographic trends is another story."
For now, the state serves as a western testing ground—a place where the ideological, technological, and industrial currents of Buskirk’s movement converge in miniature. If the MAGA ecosystem aims to outlast its founder, Colorado may be one of the laboratories where that experiment is refined.
What Comes Next
As the MAGA movement enters its second decade, Buskirk’s model suggests it may not need Trump himself to endure. What started as a populist revolt is becoming a structured system—a professionalized mix of business, politics, and culture, engineered to survive the man who inspired it.
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