- Silicon Valley billionaires reportedly hosted a fundraiser for Donald Trump in San Francisco.
- David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya may have been aiming to shift the narrative on Trump support.
Silicon Valley's billionaire investors are pulling out all the stops to get wealthy donors to empty their pockets for former President Donald Trump.
Reuters reported that the tech venture capitalists David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya, along with Sacks' wife, hosted a fundraiser at the Sackses' San Francisco mansion on Thursday night to drum up support for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
A 33-foot inflatable chicken resembling Trump was planned to be involved, CBS News reported.
The inflatable even donned a prisoner's uniform, which was a bold reference to Trump being found guilty last week on all counts in his hush-money case.
On a recent episode of the "All-In" podcast, Sacks said, "I know there's going to be a lot of people who support Trump, but they don't want to admit it."
The Craft Ventures cofounder said he hoped the fundraiser would help shift the narrative that it might be considered uncool to openly acknowledge being a Trump supporter.
Sacks said, "I think this event is going to break the ice on that, and maybe it will create a preference cascade where, all of a sudden, it becomes acceptable to acknowledge the truth, which is a lot of people support Trump."
He's not the only billionaire in Silicon Valley backing Trump. There appears to be growing support for him. The Sequoia Capital partner Shaun Maguire has also endorsed Trump.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk could also be leaning in that direction as he seems to have been cozying up to Trump recently. The Wall Street Journal reported Musk had discussed taking up an advisory role should the former president reclaim the White House. On Wednesday, Musk posted on X, "SF Bay Area is shifting towards Trump."
Meanwhile, Palmer Luckey, the founder of the defense-tech firm Anduril, plans to host a June fundraiser for Trump in Newport Beach, a coastal city in Southern California, Bloomberg reported.
Donors coughed up $12 million at the Thursday reception and dinner with Trump, Reuters said, citing the Republican National Committee member Harmeet Dhillon and another source.
Some tickets were sold for $50,000 each, but a higher-tier ticket costing up to $300,000 was also available, CNBC reported. The ticket came with extras like a photograph with Trump, the report added.
The New York Times reported that about 25 people had been expected to attend the dinner, with about another 50 guests planned for the larger reception.