Trump returning to California for big-dollar fundraisers next week

Former President Trump is scheduled to return to California next week for a pair of high-dollar fundraisers, one notably hosted by relatives of the wife of Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to invitations obtained by The Times.

On Sept. 13, donors are being asked to pony up as much as $500,000 per couple for an afternoon fundraiser in the Bay Area community of Woodside hosted by Tom and Stacey Siebel. Tom Siebel, a billionaire software developer and businessman who has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Trump’s 2024 campaign, is a second cousin once removed of Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the Democratic governor's wife.

Newsom's representatives did not respond to requests for comment.

Siebel Newsom’s family has a well-reported history of Republican activism, including by her father, Ken Siebel. But after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose presidential bid Ken Siebel supported financially, misstated the motivation for Siebel and his wife moving to Florida during a debate with Newsom, the first partner's father described DeSantis as a "lying slimeball," according to the Daily Mail.

Trump will also headline an evening fundraiser in Los Angeles on Sept. 12, with top tickets going for $250,000 per person. The location and hosts have not been revealed.

The gatherings take place at a critical moment in the campaign, in the window between the first debate between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, on Tuesday, and Sept. 18, when Trump is scheduled to be sentenced for his conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal that may have influenced the outcome of the 2016 election.

They also occur in the aftermath of fundraising disclosures that show Harris with a gaping fundraising lead over Trump since she became the Democratic candidate after President Biden announced he would not seek reelection. The Democratic nominee's campaign announced Friday that she and running mate Tim Walz and their allied committees raised $361 million in August, the most in the current electoral cycle, and had $404 million cash on hand.

Republicans announced Wednesday that Trump, running mate JD Vance and allied committees raised $130 million in August, with $295 million in the bank.

Vance, an Ohio senator, will raise money in Los Angeles on Sunday, as Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff did on Thursday. Several Italian Americans, including Hollywood stars, will host a virtual dinner fundraiser for Harris on Sunday. Among the participants of “Paisans for Kamala” are actors Steve Buscemi, Alyssa Milano, Lorraine Bracco, Marisa Tomei and John Turturro, as well as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The amount of attention being showered on Californians in the waning weeks of the presidential campaign is due to its outsized role in fueling campaigns of both parties. Despite the state’s cobalt blue tilt, it is home to an enormous number of Republican as well as Democratic donors and is typically among the largest sources of donations to candidates of both parties.

As of Aug. 8, Harris had raised $65.5 million for her presidential campaign from Californians, more than any other state’s residents had donated, according to Federal Election Commission fundraising disclosures of donors who contributed more than $200 to a candidate committee.

Trump had raised $24.8 million from California donors, the second-most from any state. (These figures reflect donations to the candidates’ committees, not to outside groups or independent expenditure committees.)

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times .