Trump fundraisers in California flooded with cash – and secrecy

SAN FRANCISCO – Donald Trump remains unpopular in the state where he lost to Hillary Clinton: California's approval ratings are among the worst he has ever seen.

But among state republicans, it's a different story. And they bought tickets for four high-priced fundraisers for the president.

History continues below

The events are largely surrounded by secrets, made necessary by the deep hostility that many people in the state feel towards the president.

Again, the notes sold "faster than Mick Jagger," Shawn Steel, former president of the State party, a member of the Republican National Committee and Trump consolidator, mocks.

"There is a lot of love for him here," Steel says, pointing to more than 1,000 Republicans, "donors at all levels", who have claimed tickets for four events in the next 24 hours, including a luncheon in Silicon Valley, two events in the Los Angeles / Beverly Hills area – a dinner Wednesday and another Wednesday. Thursday breakfast – and another lunch in San Diego on Thursday.

Already, the state's donors have generously contributed to its re-election campaign and joint fundraising committee with the RNC, receiving $ 6.5 million worth of checks between January and June of this year. During the September 17 lunch break in the Bay Area, ticket prices range from $ 1,000 to $ 100,000.

This week, Trump's fundraisers in California attracted new Republican donors and funders eager to be in the same room for the events in northern and southern California, which could bring in more than $ 15 million. dollars, announced party insiders.

"My husband and I have achieved our goals and we have never achieved our goals," said San Francisco attorney Harmeet Dhillon, a former vice president of the party, who is hosting two tables at the Silicon Valley event. She says she has been overwhelmed by Republican ticket requests – big and small – who are desperate to be part of the scene.

"I had to say no to at least 50 people in the last few hours," said Dhillon, as she was going to last week's GOP convention at Indian Wells. "I sold four tables very easily and many of them are big donors," she said. "I could have sold another $ 100,000 of tickets."

"There are many more people who wanted to attend the meetings than we have the capacity," said Dhillon, recently introduced by Trump at the White House at an event aimed at social media insiders. "They are excited because surrogates like Don Jr. have arrived, but that's the reality."

Tuesday's event participants do not receive the lunch address; they are asked to meet in a shuttle, sources said.

The concern comes after the news of fundraising in the Hollywood area that sparked controversy when actors Debra Messing and Eric McCormack called the participants to an outing. The demonstrators tried to find the places of the fundraisers, promising to organize demonstrations and appearances with the giant balloon "Baby Trump". The latest incursion by the president into the Bay Area at the April 2016 GOP convention in Burlingame was not as satisfactory. In particular, she saw Trump climb a median freeway to avoid the protesters who blocked the entrance to his hotel.

Dhillon said Trump's team "takes no chances after the situation in San Jose," a reference to a different incident in 2016 when Trump supporters were attacked outside his rally at the San Jose Convention Center prior to the elections. Tuesday's luncheon in the Bay Area, originally planned for Tony Atherton, has apparently changed rooms.

"Initially, we learned that he was coming [to Atherton]And the last update I had was that he would not come, "Sergeant Dan Larsen told the Atherton Police Department on Friday.

While the White House and Trump's re-election campaign refused to confirm the actual place, sources close to the event say Bay Area fundraising will be will be held at the Woodside Estate CEO of private equity firm Saul Fox, who hosted Trump at his home for a 2016 fundraiser. Fox, who runs Fox & Paine, is the mega-founder of the GOP behind Children of Israel LLC, whose $ 884,000 in contributions earned it to be "the second most generous" ghost company "of the 2016 cycle," according to The Intercept.

The Fox Peninsula's wealthy community also hosts tech giants such as Larry Ellison and Democratic venture capital star John Doerr, who hosted President Obama and technology titans, including Steve Jobs. and Mark Zuckerberg, at a dinner held in 2011 in his neighboring Woodside. Manor.

The San Mateo County Sheriff's Department referred the appeals to the White House Press Office.

After his stopover in the Bay Area, the president will travel to Southern California for an evening in the 90210 area code of Beverly Hills-Bel Air. The fundraiser, which took place during Emmy Week, was hosted by Geoffrey Palmer, a long-time real estate magnate, who aims to highlight Trump's commentary on the television industry. .

Palmer, who donated more than $ 4 million to GOP Causes in the 2018 cycle, is one of the first donors to Rebuilding America Now, the super pro-Trump PAC founded by the former campaign manager. Trump, Paul Manafort – currently convicted of fraud – and Trump ally businessman Tom Barrack.

Tickets range from $ 1,000 to $ 10,000 per couple for a photo shoot at the event which, according to an invitation, is also the host of CDN President Ronna McDaniel, RNC Co-Chair, Tommy Hicks Jr., Campaign Director Brad Parscale and Trump Victory Finance Chair Todd Ricketts. .

Lanhee Chen, former adviser to presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Marco Rubio, said California Republicans of all stripes were eager to participate in the president's first major fundraising operation here. One reason is their support for his contentious relationship with the Democratic leaders of this state, who have committed more than 50 prosecutions against his administration.

"They are stimulated by these struggles between him and the left-wing Democrats," said Chen, "and they think he's taking it from them."

Celeste Greig, former president of the California Republican Assembly – one of the GOP's most conservative grassroots groups – will be among Republicans willing to send checks to Trump's campaign. She will participate in her event in Bel Air.

"I'm going because he's done a great job, maybe not perfect, but a great job," Greig said. "Yes, he pissed off some people, but that's what he is … people have to overcome that."

Greig says that Clint Eastwood – an icon of the movie who was also the former mayor of Carmel, Calif. – and Mel Gibson, another conservative voice in Hollywood, have promised appearances to attendees. And that, she says, is a good way to stand up against the very prominent voices of Hollywood Democrat democracy such as Messing.

The next day, the president travels to the San Diego area for another sold-out fundraiser that, according to insiders, is expected to yield $ 4 million for the Trump re-election campaign.

California GOP President, Jessica Millan Patterson, said Trump's successful fundraising highlighted the fact that United California Republicans unite clearly behind the president as 2020 approaches – and that Trump's popularity is reflected in an increase in party funds.

According to the latest poll of the Public Policy Institute of California, Trump's approval rate among likely Republican voters is 89%. Of all likely voters, its approvals are only 38%.

"We are certainly on the right track. We have obviously spent $ 100 million more than our expenditures in 2018, "she said of the fundraiser. "[But] so far, there are 6,400 new donors at the lowest level and 72 large-scale donors … so we're on the right track. And "we have commitments of $ 1.3 million ahead of 2017," she said.

Bill Whalen, a fellow of the Hoover Institution who advised former GOP governor, Pete Wilson, said that despite California's totally blue status and the collapse of the GOP, "people tend to forget that nearly 4 million voted for him in California in 2016 … so it 's not like he' d had no friends here. & # 39; & # 39; 39;

"No sensible political consultant thinks Trump has a chance to win in California in 2020," said Whalen. But the sold-out fundraisers reveal that GOP appreciated the president's commitment to California issues that interested them, such as homelessness, energy or the automobile. emission standards.

The question arising from these events for Trump, he said, will be: "Is there a single event or will there be a persistent presence in California?"

Steele predicts that the demand for tickets and the size of the multi-million dollar campaign of the Trump California re-election campaign this week will "be enough to encourage him to come back."