republican presidential candidate Donald Trump On Thursday, he will attend a fundraiser hosted by two tech venture capitalists in San Francisco, a high-dollar event expected to attract Silicon Valley investors balked by the Biden administration’s policies.
Venture capitalists David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya, along with Sacks’ wife Jacqueline, will host alongside Trump, according to one venture capitalist Reception and dinner. Invitation seen by Reuters.
A source with knowledge of the fundraising told Reuters that tickets for the party, priced at $500,000 per couple, were sold out. Another source said it could raise $10 million to $15 million.
Although San Francisco is a highly liberal state—Democrat Joe Biden defeated then-President Trump in the 2020 election, winning 85% of the city’s vote—a growing number of prominent local venture capitalists Show support before Trump takes office in November. Rematch with Biden.
Trevor Traina, a San Francisco tech executive and former Trump ambassador to Austria, said business regulations implemented during Biden’s presidency have alienated some in the tech industry.
Biden last week veto He said the Republican-led resolution would “unduly limit the SEC’s ability to develop appropriate regulatory measures and address future issues related to cryptocurrency assets.”
“This may just be the final domino,” Traynor said of why some tech executives are now supporting Trump.
The crypto industry is increasingly trying Influence American politicians Because it faces intense scrutiny from regulators, especially since the bankruptcies of major cryptocurrency companies in 2022 spooked investors, exposed fraud and misconduct, and resulted in heavy losses for millions of investors.
Sachs and Palihapitiya have spoken openly about their investments in cryptocurrencies, specifically Bitcoin. A representative for Saks declined to comment. Palihapitiya did not respond to a request for comment.
Jacob Helberg, a consultant at data analytics provider Palantir and a Democrat until 2021, said he recently donated about $1 million to Trump’s campaign.
“One of the people I knew in Silicon Valley who supported Trump in 2016 was Peter,” Helberg said, referring to Palantir co-founder and conservative venture capitalist Peter Thiel. Thiel).
“I counted today, there were dozens, if not more, of them. In the last six months, we started to see the dam break,” he said.
Helberg, who also helps Trump raise money, cited factors such as the economy, border security and Israel’s conflict with Hamas that contributed to the shift in support, as well as what he called over-policing and a politicized judiciary after Trump’s conviction. the opinion of.
Trump’s campaign received record funding after last week’s guilty verdict, and the event in San Francisco will add to his coffers.
Major Republican donors are undeterred by his convictions; Unite to support Trumppledging millions of dollars to support the first convicted felon’s bid for President of the United States.
Billionaire Elon Musk, a friend of Sacks’s, responded to a post about the fundraiser on his social media platform X on Wednesday, writing that “the Bay Area is tilting toward Trump.”
It was unclear whether Musk, who has increasingly espoused right-wing politics and spread conspiracy theories on Musk did not respond to a request for comment.
Trump’s potential running mate, Senator J.D. Vance, who previously lived in San Francisco and worked in venture capital, will attend the event, according to sources familiar with Trump’s plans. Vance helped organize the fundraiser and served as a point of contact between Sachs and the Trump campaign, according to another person familiar with the matter.
San Francisco remains a fertile fundraising ground for Democrats. Vice President Kamala Harris was in the city on Wednesday for her own fundraiser, which was held at a music venue decorated with rainbow flags and other Pride Month-themed decorations.
“Everything is at stake in this election,” Harris said, talking about abortion rights and support for same-sex marriage without mentioning Trump by name.
About The Author
