Trump heads to tech fundraiser in San Francisco, with some guests paying $300,000

A
pair
of
tech
investors
and
podcasters
are
hosting

Donald
Trump
on
Thursday
for
a
high-profile
fundraiser
in
San
Francisco,
the
latest
sign
that
an
industry
once
hostile
to
the
former
president
has
warmed
to
the
Republican
candidate.

David
Sacks,
a
prominent
venture
capitalist
and
part
of
the
“PayPal
mafia,”
is
holding
the
fundraiser
at
his
Pacific
Heights
residence.
Tickets
sold
for
$50,000
a
head,
with
a
$300,000
tier
that
includes
perks
like
a
photo
with
Trump.
It
comes
a
week
after
Trump
was
convicted
in
New
York
of
34
felony
counts
of
falsifying
business
records
in
connection
with
a 2016
hush
money payment
to porn
star
Stormy
Daniels.

The
co-host
is
Chamath
Palihapitiya,
founder
of
investment
firm
Social
Capital
who
is
known
on
Wall
Street
for
promoting
special
purpose
acquisition
companies
(SPACs)
during
the
tech
boom
in
2020
and
2021.
Sacks
and
Palihapitiya
are
two
of
the
four
hosts
of
the
popular
All-In
podcast.

The
event
sold
out
and
is
expected
to
raise
$12
million
for
Trump.
Sacks
declined
to
comment.
Palihapitiya
didn’t
return
requests
for
comment
by
the
time
of
publication.

The
fundraiser
in
the
heart
of
the
tech
capital
represents
a
growing
shift
in
sentiment
toward
Trump,
especially
in
what’s
been
historically
a
liberal
stronghold.
Though
Sacks
has
long
been
a
conservative,
he
donated
to
Democrat

Hillary
Clinton
in
2016.
In
recent
years,
he’s
thrown
his
support
behind
the
Republican
party
and
started
publicly
backing
Trump
when
it
was
clear
he’d
be
the
Republican
nominee.
Palihapitiya
donated
more
than
$250,000
to
Biden
in
2020,
according
to
campaign
records. 

“I
know
there’s
going
to
be
a
lot
of
people
who
support
Trump,
but
they
don’t
want
to
admit
it,”
Sacks
said
on
the
podcast
last
week.
“And
I
think
that
this
event
is
going
to
break
the
ice
on
that.
And
maybe
it’ll
create
a
preference
cascade,
where
all
of
a
sudden
it
becomes
acceptable
to
acknowledge
the
truth.”

That’s
not
to
say
Trump
has
lacked
support
from
big
money
techies
in
the
past.

PayPal
co-founder
and
prominent
investor

Peter
Thiel
spoke
at
the
Republican
National
Convention
in
2016
and
was
then
a
member
of
Trump’s
transition
team.

But
there’s
been
tension.
Also
In
2016,


Intel’s
then-CEO
Brian
Krzanich
planned
a
fundraiser
for
Trump,
but
abruptly
canceled
it
once
media
got
wind
and
began
asking
questions. 

In
July
of
that
year,
about
140
prominent
technologists
penned
an

open
letter
denouncing
Trump’s
politics,
writing
that
he
“campaigns
on
anger,
bigotry,
fear
of
new
ideas
and
new
people,
and
a
fundamental
belief
that
America
is
weak
and
in
decline.”

Still,
Republican
policies
are
often
seen
as
friendlier
to
the
tech
industry
because
they
favor
less
regulation
and
lower
taxes.
One
of
Trump’s
signature
accomplishments
in
his
term
centered
around

hefty
tax
cuts,
and
he
got
tough
on
China
while
carving
out
exemptions
to
protect
tech
companies
from
tariffs.
He
also
doled
out
government
contracts
to
defense
tech
companies
like


Palantir,
which
Thiel
co-founded. 

Much
of
the
turn
towards
Trump
ahead
of
the
2024
election
is
the
result
of
disdain
for
the
policies
of
President
Biden.
Under
Biden,
the
SEC
has
taken
measures
against
cryptocurrencies
and
his
antitrust
regulators
have
cracked
down
on
mega-cap
tech
companies.

 For
those
in
Sacks’
camp,
there’s
a
laundry
list
of
issues.

“Biden
came
into
office
promising
a
return
to
normalcy,”
Sacks

posted
on
X
on
June
2.
“What
has
he
actually
given
us?
A
decelerating
economy.
A
spike
in
inflation.
A
world
on
fire.
Vindictive
partisan
witch
hunts.
Dems
are
going
all
in
on
lawfare
because
they’ve
got
nothing
else
to
run
on.”

WATCH:

Venture
capitalists
host
Trump
for
fundraiser