Billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel just gave his first explanation of why he's for Trump

Billionaire investor Peter Thiel just gave CNN his first public statement on why he's supporting Donald Trump for president. He's a delegate for Trump and will be speaking at the Republican National Convention.

Here's what he said:

"Many people are uncertain in this election year, but most Americans agree that our country is on the wrong track. I don't think we can fix our problems unless we can talk about them frankly."

That's not much to go on, but the implication is that Hillary Clinton is part of the same political establishment that has been running the country for the last several decades, and that Trump is willing to talk about problems in a way that traditional politicians like Clinton are not.

Thiel, who cofounded PayPal and Palantir and is a board member at Facebook after his early investment in the company, stands out among Silicon Valley tech types. Earlier on Thursday, more than 140 tech bigwigs signed a letter standing against Trump, saying that he'd be a "disaster for innovation."

NOW WATCH: Watch Paul Ryan repeatedly have to justify his support of Donald Trump during a town-hall event

Please enable Javascript to watch this video