Silicon Valley is warming up to Donald Trump

• 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.
• The event raised around $12 million, Reuters reported, citing sources. 

Silicon Valley’s billionaire investors are pulling out all the stops to get wealthy donors to empty their pockets for Donald Trump.

Reuters reported that tech VCs David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya, along with Sacks’ wife, hosted a fundraiser at the Sacks’s San Francisco mansion on Thursday night to drum up support for the Republican presidential candidate.

A 33-foot inflatable chicken resembling Trump was also planned to be involved, CBS News reported.

The inflatable even donned a prisoner’s uniform, which was a bold reference to being found guilty by a jury last week on all counts in the hush money case.

On a recent episode of the “All-In” podcast, Sacks said, “I know there’s gonna be a lot of people who support Trump, but they don’t want to admit it.”

The Craft Ventures cofounder hoped the fundraiser would help shift the narrative that it might be considered uncool to openly admit to being a Trump supporter.

Sacks said, “I think this event is gonna 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.”

Sacks is not the only billionaire in Silicon Valley backing Trump, though. There appears to be growing support for him. Sequoia Capital partner Shaun Maguire has also endorsed Trump.

Elon Musk could also be leaning in that direction as he seems to have been cozying up to Trump recently. Musk has also reportedly 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, 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, the Reuters report said, citing Republican National Committeewoman 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.