Trump Winds Up 2-Day SoCal Fundraising Trip with Sold-Out Newport Beach Luncheon

Former President Donald Trump concluded a two-day fundraising trip to Southern California with a sold-out luncheon at a bayfront Newport Beach mansion Saturday, discussing the economy, immigration, over-regulation, inflation and taxation, according to attendees.

“He was amazing as always,” Dr. Harleen Grewal, a 41-year-old dentist from Santa Clarita told the Los Angeles Times. “He talked about the state of the country, what we need to bring us back to the American dream, the American people, how we’ve got to think about our country first and close the open border. For me, as a legal immigrant, I feel the same way. Everyone can come in by the right process, the legal process.

“He talked about all the wars that are going on. During his presidency, there were no wars and we had the greatest economy in the history of the United States. We as Americans, we need that back. If we don’t get it this time, it’s the end of America. It really is.”

Dr. Nikan Khatibi, another attendee, told The Orange County Register, “I left inspired and renewed in my confidence that the only choice for America and her allies throughout the world is President Donald J. Trump,” specifically citing Trump’s plans to address economic disparity and Iran.

Khatibi, an anesthesiologist, pain management and addiction medicine specialist, was a Trump appointee to the National Cancer Advisory Board. He is the chief executive officer and medical director of the Laguna Niguel-based Ahura Healthcare Corp., which bills itself as providing mental health, pain management and addiction medicine care to the most vulnerable community members in Southern California.

The event was closed to the news media as is customary for a fundraiser for a presidential candidate.

Tickets ranged from $3,300 for a lunch reception to $100,000 to be designated as a member of the roundtable host committee, according to an invitation obtained by City News Service. The chance to take a picture with Trump went for $35,000 or raising $75,000.

About 400 people attended the fundraiser at the home of health insurance company owner John Word and his wife, Kimberly, including Oscar- winning actor Jon Voight, The Times and The Orange Register reported. Billionaire tech entrepreneur Palmer Luckey was among the co-hosts, according to The Times.

Several hundred people lined the streets of Newport Beach for the opportunity to see Trump’s motorcade, holding signs reading, “Welcome, President Trump” and “Trump 2024, Take America Back,” according to The Register.

Between a Thursday fundraiser in San Francisco, a Friday event in Beverly Hills, Saturday’s Newport Beach luncheon and a gathering later Saturday in Las Vegas, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee was expected to raise $27.5 million for his campaign committee as well as an additional $6 million for other groups supporting his effort, a senior campaign official told The Times.

On Friday, Trump’s motorcade arrived around 6 p.m. at a mansion on Elm Drive near Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills. A group of supporters were gathered outside, many waving Trump flags or American flags and cheering as the motorcade passed by.

“My heart was beating so hard and I was so, so excited to see him drive by,” Beverly Hills resident Michelle Toumari told the Daily News. “I was about to cry knowing that he’s about to be our next president.”

The fundraiser was held at the home of Lee Samson, the owner of a chain of nursing homes, according to the Daily News.

Tickets ranged from $5,000 to attend a reception to $250,000 for the buyer to be designated as an event chair. Other ticket prices were $100,000 to participate in a roundtable, or $40,000 or raising $75,000, for a photo opportunity.

The visit was 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 expected November opponent, President Joe Biden, is scheduled to visit the Southland next week, appearing with former President Barack Obama next Saturday 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.