Former President Trump is scheduled to return to California next week for a pair of high-dollar fundraisers, one of them hosted by relatives of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s wife, according to invitations obtained by The Times.
On Sept. 13, donors are being asked to give up to $500,000 per couple for an afternoon fundraiser in Woodside hosted by Tom and Stacey Siebel. Tom Siebel, a billionaire software developer and entrepreneur who has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Trump’s 2024 campaign, is a second cousin of Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the Democratic governor’s wife.
Representatives for Newsom did not respond to requests for comment.
Siebel Newsom's family has a well-documented history of Republican activism, including by her father, Ken Siebel. But after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose presidential bid Ken Siebel financially supported, misrepresented the motivation for Siebel and his wife moving to Florida during a debate with the governor, the first couple's father described DeSantis as a “liar scoundrel,” according to the Daily Mail.
Trump will also headline a fundraiser in Los Angeles on Sept. 12, with tickets priced at $250,000 per person. The venue and hosts have not been disclosed.
The meetings come at a critical moment in the campaign, in the window between the first debate between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday and Sept. 18, when Trump is scheduled to be sentenced for his conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal that could have derailed his 2016 candidacy.
Trump’s vice presidential running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, will raise money in Los Angeles on Sunday, as did second gentleman Doug Emhoff on Thursday. Several Italian-Americans, including Hollywood stars, will host a virtual fundraising dinner for Harris on Sunday. “Paisans for Kamala” participants include actors Steve Buscemi, Alyssa Milano, Lorraine Bracco, Marisa Tomei and John Turturro, as well as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The amount of attention that has been paid to Californians in the final weeks of the presidential campaign is due to their outsized role in fueling the campaigns of both parties. Despite the state’s cobalt-blue tilt, it is home to a huge number of Republican and Democratic donors and is typically one of the largest sources of donations to candidates of both parties.
As of Aug. 8, Harris had raised $65.5 million for her presidential campaign from Californians, more than had been donated by residents of any other state, according to Federal Election Commission fundraising disclosures from donors who contributed more than $200 to a candidate committee.
Trump had raised $24.8 million from California donors, the second-most of any state. (These figures reflect donations to candidates’ committees, not outside groups or independent expenditure committees.)
