In a bizarre and unprecedented display of political détente, tech industry leaders and populist politicians have formed an unlikely alliance in Washington, D.C. The convergence of these two seemingly disparate groups has resulted in a rebranding of tech policy, with "MAGA-friendly" talking points and justifications becoming the new norm.

At the center of this phenomenon is the recent Little Tech Summit hosted by Y Combinator, a prominent Silicon Valley entity. The event brought together an eclectic mix of speakers, including former Consumer Finance and Protection Bureau director Rohit Chopra, a progressive, and Steve Bannon, a key figure in the MAGA movement. The unlikely pairing sparked a mixture of confusion and fascination among attendees, with some describing it as a "visual pairing that reduced [them] to sending a photo of the stage with the caption 'what if horseshoe theory, but real' to several sources."

The summit's agenda featured a range of topics, including antitrust policy, with Federal Trade Commission chair Andrew Ferguson and key officials from the Department of Justice's antitrust division in attendance. Notably, Ferguson appeared at the event with an AI-generated Ghibli-fied avatar of himself, a move that raised eyebrows among observers. The event also saw Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) make threatening noises at Meta, despite Mark Zuckerberg's recent efforts to rebrand himself as a pro-free speech advocate.

Perhaps the most striking aspect of the summit was the presence of Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), who received a standing ovation from the audience for his 25-hour speech denouncing Trump the night before. The juxtaposition of Booker's progressive credentials with the MAGA-friendly rhetoric of other speakers underscored the complexity of the emerging tech policy landscape.

According to Tina Nguyen, a senior reporter for The Verge, the event marked a significant shift in the way tech policy is being discussed in Washington. "Supporting small businesses" is now being rebranded as "economic populism," while "breaking up monopolies" must include justifications related to "suppressing free speech." This rebranding has led to the inclusion of diehard conservative think tankers in high-profile events, a development that would have been unthinkable just a year ago.

The implications of this MAGA-tech alliance are far-reaching and complex. As the tech industry navigates the treacherous waters of Washington politics, it is clear that the old rules no longer apply. The fact that Steve Bannon can appear at a Y Combinator event without being booed out of the building is a testament to the new reality of tech policy in Trump's Washington.

As the tech industry continues to grapple with the consequences of this unlikely alliance, one thing is certain: the landscape of tech policy in Washington has been forever changed. The question now is what this means for the future of tech regulation and innovation in the United States.