In the wake of former President Trump's conviction on 34 felonies, he will head to California next week to raise campaign funds at big-ticket events in San Francisco, Beverly Hills and Newport Beach. They are expected to raise millions.
“A sham trial designed for one purpose: to brand Donald Trump as a 'criminal'.” tweeted Silicon Valley venture capitalist David Sacks., host of the Bay Area fundraiser that will reportedly be held at his Pacific Heights complex, shortly after the verdict was announced Thursday. “Look at the Democrats and the [mainstream media] repeat that word incessantly.”
The events in California were planned before the verdict, but the Trump campaign said Friday morning that they have received $34.8 million since the former president was convicted. He touted the response from his followers during his comments on Friday.
Trump was convicted by a New York jury of 34 counts of falsifying business records involving about $130,000 in payments made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels, who alleges they had sex in Lake Tahoe during a golf tournament, in a effort to influence the 2016 presidential election. Trump, who denies having had sexual relations, is the first former president convicted of a crime.
Trump is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, days before he is officially named the Republican Party's presidential nominee at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. He is expected to appeal the conviction, and Republican leaders have supported him, arguing that the trial in New York was rigged and that Democrats used the legal system as a weapon.
The former president will be in California for at least three days next week raising money to boost Trump's efforts to unseat his Democratic rival, President Biden, in November.
On Thursday, Sacks, a former PayPal executive, will hold a fundraiser; his wife, Jacqueline Sacks; and venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya, former Facebook leader. Entry cost: up to $300,000 per person and $500,000 per couple.
The next day, Trump will raise money in Beverly Hills, with attendees paying up to $250,000 per person, according to an invitation obtained by The Times.
On Saturday, he will headline a fundraiser in Newport Beach where donors will be asked to contribute up to $100,000, with billionaire tech entrepreneur Palmer Luckey among the hosts. Co-hosts John Word, co-founder of a health insurance company, and his wife, Kimberly, will reportedly host the event at his home overlooking Newport Harbor.
These events were already expected to raise large sums of money. But the former president's fundraising has increased dramatically since the verdict was handed down. The online fundraising processor for Republican campaign donations crashed on Thursday, the New York Times reported.
The Trump campaign attributed the technological failure to a flood of donations to the former president's campaign after the verdict was announced.
“Just minutes after the verdict, the digital fundraising system has been hit by a record number of supporters,” said Brian Hughes, a senior campaign advisor. “The campaign is grateful for this tremendous support because it shows that Americans have seen this sham trial as the political interference in the election that Biden and Democrats have always intended.”
Dan Schnur, a politics professor at USC, UC Berkeley and Pepperdine University, said Trump's campaign coffers could benefit from the verdict given how polarized the country is.
“By definition, someone who writes you a check is already a true believer. And we've already seen over the weeks of the trial that the Trump campaign has figured out how to make this work for their fundraising benefit,” Schnur said. “There may be some apprehensive donors who pull out, but his strong supporters may end up writing even bigger checks.”
In fact, shortly after the verdict, Shaun Maguire, a partner at a Menlo Park venture capital firm that funds technology companies, announced that he donated $300,000 to Trump's campaign.
“The timing is not a coincidence,” Maguire wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). He is a partner at Sequoia Capital and supported Hillary Clinton in her 2016 presidential campaign against Trump.
Still, while Trump received endorsements from some notable tech leaders in his successful 2016 campaign, such as billionaire PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, Silicon Valley largely favors Democrats.
This election cycle, Biden and groups supporting his campaign have raised $17.1 million from the communications and electronics industry, which includes technology companies, according to a Federal Election Commission analysis by Open Secrets. Trump has raised $1.7 million. (The analysis comes from FEC data released April 22 by the nonpartisan group, which tracks election finances.)
The contrasting numbers reflect the president's fundraising advantage nationally and in California. Biden's campaign posted revenue of $194.8 million through April 30, compared to Trump's $124.2 million, according to fundraising disclosures filed with the FEC.
Both candidates have raised more in California than any other state because the state's donors bankroll political candidates on both sides of the aisle despite their cobalt leanings. Biden has raised $21 million from Californians as of March 31, while Trump has raised $11.1 million, according to the FEC.
Democrats are also returning to California to raise more campaign money. Vice President Kamala Harris will headline a fundraiser in San Diego County on Friday afternoon; According to the White House, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff is scheduled to speak at an evening fundraiser in Los Angeles.
The next big Los Angeles fundraiser for the Democratic ticket will take place on June 15, when Biden will appear with former President Obama at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Late night host Jimmy Kimmel will moderate a conversation between the men; Actors George Clooney and Julia Roberts are also expected to participate in the event.
Although the Biden campaign did not disclose the amount of money expected to be raised at the rally, Democrats have historically raised enormous sums at such events in Los Angeles. Donors at a December event in Holmby Hills were asked to contribute up to $929,600 to the Biden Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee that supports the president's re-election campaign, the Democratic National Committee and state Democratic parties.
Times staff writer Julia Wick contributed to this report.
