Former President Donald Trump headed to the West Coast this week for a fundraising tour that is set to bring in millions of dollars to his financial coffers.
His campaign has boasted of raking in nearly $53 million in the 24 hours after he was found guilty of falsifying business records in a hush-money scheme, a trial that Republicans have denounced as politically motivated, and in total, the campaign together with the Republican National Committee raised $141 million in May.
Now, a San Francisco fundraising event on Thursday hosted by Silicon Valley entrepreneur David Sacks at his home in the tony Pacific Heights neighborhood and investor Chamath Palihapitiya brought in $12 million, according to one RNC member, after charging couples $500,000 to attend. The event started at $50,000 for the reception and a photo, and $300,000 per person to attend the dinner.
RNC member Harmeet Dhillon, who attended the fundraiser, said she was “thrilled to see leaders stepping up” to support Trump as he seeks to narrow the fundraising gap between his and President Joe Biden’s campaign.
Sacks, who hosted the event with his wife, Jacqueline, further elaborated on his fundraising support of Trump in a lengthy post on social media.
“My reasons rest on four main issues that I think are vital to American prosperity, security, and stability – issues where the Biden administration has veered badly off course and where I believe President Trump can lead us back,” wrote Sacks. He went on to cite the economy, foreign policy, the border, and the “lawfare” against Trump in his post.
Why I’m Backing President Trump
As many press accounts have reported, I’m hosting a fundraising event for President Donald J. Trump at my home in San Francisco this evening.
Over the last couple of years, I have hosted events for presidential candidates Ron DeSantis, Vivek…
— David Sacks (@DavidSacks) June 7, 2024
It’s a notable difference from the chilly reception to Trump during his 2016 presidential run.
“Back in 2016 I had drunk the media Kool-Aid and was scared out of my mind about Trump. As such I donated to Hilary Clinton’s campaign and voted for her,” Maguire wrote on X last week. “Now, in 2024, I believe this is one of the most important elections of my lifetime, and I’m supporting Trump.”
Billionaire Gristedes CEO John Catsimatidis attended a fundraiser on the evening the guilty verdict against Trump was announced. “It was a wonderful dinner. It was only about 15 people plus staff. [Trump] was in very high spirits,” Catsimatidis told 77 WABC Radio host Rita Cosby. “These 15 people are top top top people. Not the A-list. Not the AA list. It was the AAA list.”
After attending the San Francisco event, his first time in the city in more than a decade, Trump is also expected to attend fundraising events in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, and Newport Beach as he seeks to financially rebound from the guilty verdict.
The Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee have long had the financial advantage over Trump and the RNC, but April marked the first time Trump had raised more money than his Democratic rival.
Yet Biden still had $146 million cash on hand compared to Trump’s $88 million at the end of April.
Biden also sought the help of Silicon Valley last month after attending two separate fundraisers, one hosted by billionaire venture capitalist Vinod Khosla and another hosted by former Yahoo CEO Marissa Meyer.
Vice President Kamala Harris, a former California senator, was also in Oakland and San Francisco attending fundraising events this week.
Trump flew into San Francisco Thursday after an earlier town hall with Turning Point Action CEO Charlie Kirk in Arizona.
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The former president spent the majority of the town hall attacking Biden over his recently announced executive order on the U.S. southern border.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.