President Trump to attend private fundraiser at tech founder’s California home
President Donald Trump is set to visit California this weekend for a private fundraiser, shortly after a contentious funding dispute over the state’s plea for disaster assistance for several major wildfires.
The Orange County Register reported that Trump will be arriving Sunday in Newport Beach to attend an event at tech founder and Republican donor Palmer Luckey’s home.
Luckey founded Oculus VR in 2012, and the company was soon launched to fame by its Rift, a virtual reality headset. In 2014, Luckey’s company was bought by Facebook and he went on to found defense firm Anduril Industries in 2017.
Luckey was reportedly selling tickets to the fundraiser event for $2,800 to $150,000. Higher-value tickets include options to take a photo with the president, according to the Register.
The Southern California newspaper also reported that the event was originally planned for Oct. 6, but was postponed after the president tested positive for coronavirus.
After announcing that he and his wife had contracted COVID-19 on Oct. 1, the president was briefly held for treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland, but has made several public appearances recently in good spirits.
On Monday, he made his first appearance at a campaign rally since testing positive for the virus. The Associated Press reported that he was in fighting form at the Florida rally, and assured his supporters that he was no longer infectious.
“I feel so powerful,” Trump told the crowd. “I’ll walk into that audience. I’ll walk in there, I’ll kiss everyone in that audience. I’ll kiss the guys and the beautiful women ... everybody. I’ll just give ya a big fat kiss.”
Trump’s visit to California comes as his prolonged feud with the Democrat-dominated state intensifies, recently rejecting the state’s request for funding in response to the Creek Fire and five more destructive wildfires only to later reverse the decision. Gov. Gavin Newsom previously said that Trump’s repeated threats to withhold funding from California belied a good working relationship behind the scenes.
Luckey, a California native, is a major Republican donor. He has spent more than $400,000 toward Trump’s reelection campaign and many thousands of dollars more on GOP campaigns across the country, according to Federal Election Commission records.
In July, the Trump administration signed a five-year contract with Luckey’s Anduril Industries to deploy surveillance towers along the southern U.S. border.
This story was originally published October 17, 2020 at 1:36 PM.