Trump visits Southern California on campaign fundraising swing

Supporters of former President Donald Trump gather at the corner of Divisadero and Pacific before Trump attends a fundraiser in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, Thursday, June 6, 2024. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

BEVERLY HILLS – More than a week after he was convicted of 34 felony charges of falsifying business records, former President Donald Trump attended a campaign fundraiser in Beverly Hills Friday, followed by another event in Newport Beach on Saturday.

A Beverly Hills Police Department sergeant, Jeffrey Newman, said no major road closures were expected in the city during Trump’s evening visit, although “rolling closures are expected to shut down intersections briefly while Trump’s motorcade passes through.”

Around 6 p.m., the motorcade arrived at the fundraiser location – a mansion on Elm Drive near Sunset Boulevard. A group of supporters were gathered outside the home, many waving Trump flags or American flags and cheering as the motorcade passed by.

The visits come after the Trump campaign has said it received a spike of nearly $35 million in donations following the former president’s conviction in New York last week on charges stemming from a payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Prosecutors said the payment was an effort to silence her during the 2016 presidential campaign about an alleged sexual encounter she claims she previously had with the married Trump.

Trump has denied any such encounter despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

He is the first former president to ever be convicted of a crime. But the conviction has not slowed down Trump, who is still on track to be the Republican nominee for president in November. His three-city fundraising swing through California was planned well ahead of his conviction.

After a Thursday fundraiser in San Francisco, Trump will make a stop in Beverly Hills on Friday.

Tickets for the Beverly Hills fundraiser range from $5,000 to attend a reception to $250,000 for the buyer to be designated as an event chair, according to an invitation obtained by City News Service. Other ticket prices are $100,000 to participate in a roundtable, or $40,000 or raising $75,000, for a photo opportunity.

Trump will attend an event in Newport Beach on Saturday, with tickets ranging from $3,300 for a lunch reception to $100,000 to be designated as a member of the roundtable host committee. The chance to take a picture with Trump goes for $35,000 or raising $75,000.

Tony Strickland, a Huntington Beach City Councilman who is chairing the Orange County campaign for Trump, said, “My phone’s ringing off the hook” for tickets.

“It’s sold out,” he told City News Service. “We’re at the point of turning people away unfortunately. It shows the excitement we have for the president coming out to Orange County.”

Strickland said since Trump’s conviction, “Our website crashed because there were so many people donating. And 30% didn’t give before, so it shows a lot of momentum for the president.”

Strickland said he’s also fielding calls from interested volunteers wanting to canvas for votes or do phone banking. And while Strickland doesn’t favor the state law allowing mail-in voting, he has adapted.

“As a Republican, I don’t like ballot harvesting. I think it’s bad for California, but it’s the law, so we have to be smart about it and we’ll be smart about it this year,” he said. “We want to make sure President Trump is elected.”

According to reports, tech entrepreneur Palmer Luckey is among the hosts for the Newport Beach event, which will be at the home of health insurance company owner John Word and his wife, Kimberly.

The visit will be Trump’s first to Southern California since Sept. 29-30, when he spoke at the California Republican Party Fall Convention in Anaheim and a fundraiser in Costa Mesa and visited the Carvel Ice Cream shop in Westwood.

Trump’s November opponent, President Joe Biden, is scheduled to visit the Southland next week, appearing with former President Barack Obama on June 15 at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles. George Clooney and Julia Roberts are among those expected to attend, while Jimmy Kimmel is expected to moderate a discussion between Biden and Obama. (CNS)