You guys surprise me. Obviously friends can disagree, including about important things. I'm trying to think of a sublime historical example but I'm tired and all that comes to mind is Camille Paglia and Rush Limbaugh. Oh well.
If the article is to be believed, this is not just "some friend", it's someone Altman would want to spend the rest of his life with in the event of a catastrophe: it's his favorite human being on the planet.
And it's not just one's opinions or even party affiliation; Thiel is working very hard and very publicly to get Trump elected.
I actually read a bit of an insinuation to the fact they're both gay, but maybe I'm overreading into the article.