RedState has written about former President Donald Trump’s sudden fundraising success, which has taken off following his conviction in the Manhattan trial. On Thursday, an MSNBC panel speculated about it, talking in part about it happening in Silicon Valley.
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The panel pointed out the early post-verdict fundraising numbers, including a major donation almost immediately on the heels of the conviction. But what’s really great about the MSNBC speculation is the claim that President Biden was “too quiet for too long.” That’s rich, when one considers the recent history of President Biden saying, well, anything.
As the panel revealed, the former president had a roster of fundraisers and rallies on the West Coast; aside from the Silicon Valley fundraiser, Trump will be holding events in Beverly Hills and Newport Beach.
When asked about Trump’s support in the area, the correspondent on the ground, Dierdre Bosa, the anchor of CNBC’s “Tech Check” referred to Silicon Valley as a “liberal bastion” – she’s not wrong – and evinces some surprise at having seen someone wearing “full Republican gear.” It’s not clear what “full Republican gear” involves, so we shall have to take Ms. Bosa at her word.
She also noted that, in recent years, the perception of the Republican Party in Silicon Valley has changed (presumably since the last election), and that the GOP is now perceived as being, at least, less tough on the big tech company than the Biden administration, citing crackdowns on cryptocurrency and lawsuits against tech companies by the Biden administration’s Department of Justice on “big tech and gig economy workers.” She also noted Trump-era tax cuts that benefited the tech giants.
That was the “before.”
This is the “after.” On Friday, in a Fox News exclusive interview, former President Donald Trump reportedly received $12 million from tech company giants in the Silicon Valley fundraiser Thursday evening, and gained the expected endorsement from one of the Valley’s heavy hitters, David Sacks:
Former President Trump touted the success of a San Francisco fundraiser Thursday evening as a major shift in support and a “great testament” to his accomplishments after raising $12 million and landing the endorsement of a top Silicon Valley venture capitalist.
Trump told Fox News Digital that tech leaders who hosted the fundraiser, David Sacks and Chamath Paliphapitiya — two high-profile figures in Silicon Valley and co-hosts of the “All In” podcast — are “very unhappy” with President Biden.
“These are brilliant guys — AI guys — these are the guys that are doing all the things you read about,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “These are just a brilliant group of people. And they can’t relate to Biden because he is a stupid person — and I have a high IQ.”
Davis Sacks took to X to give a detailed explanation for his endorsement.
Silicon Valley is an interesting choice of venue for such a fundraiser, as it has been and still is, as MSNBC points out, a liberal bastion. In the 2020 election, Joe Biden outpolled Trump in Santa Clara County (which includes San Jose, Palo Alto, Mountain View, and Los Gatos) by almost a three-to-one margin.
That may be changing now. Sack’s endorsement is only one data point, but the fundraising haul from Silicon Valley – while not, perhaps, being an enormous amount by Silicon Valley standards – is still substantial for a one-night, one-event take.
Donald Trump will be attending the Beverly Hills fundraiser on Friday, and the Newport Beach event is scheduled for Saturday. It will be roundly interesting to see numbers from those events; while Beverly Hills is, like Silicon Valley, a bastion of liberalism, Trump should find Newport Beach a friendlier environment.
Finally, Trump describes his travels through the city of San Francisco:
“When Secret Service took us through the middle of San Francisco, there were thousands of people waving,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “We’re talking the heart of San Francisco — people were screaming on the streets with love. It was a very nice thing to see.”
It’s doubtful in the extreme that San Francisco, or California, will go Trump’s way this fall. But then, 2024 has been a year of firsts.
