Trump heads to LA for big ticket fundraiser, golf course press conference

As the campaign trail heats up, former president Donald Trump will be putting boots on the ground in Los Angeles this week at a private fundraiser and a Rancho Palos Verdes press conference.

The appearances come during a pivotal time in the campaign — immediately following the Trump-Harris debate and when polls show a too-close-to-call race between the two candidates.

On Thursday evening Trump will speak at a campaign fundraiser in an undisclosed Los Angeles location where tickets range from $3,300 to $250,000.

Then on Friday morning, he will host a press conference at his golf course in Rancho Palos Verdes, before heading to the Bay Area for an evening fundraiser hosted by software developer Tom Siebel and his wife Stacey. Tom Siebel is a major Trump donor and a second cousin once removed of Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the Democratic governor’s wife.

Torrance City Councilmember Aurelio Mattucci, whose city borders Palos Verdes, said he was very excited to hear Trump is heading to town.

“As a conservative myself, it makes me happy that he hasn’t forgotten about us in California and the fact that he’s here offers a great sign of unity for our party,” he said.

While Trump and his running mate Ohio Sen. JD Vance have both made recent fundraising trips to Southern California, Trump’s press conference is a more unusual use of time in a deep blue state.

“The fact that he’s coming here shows the public, shows his supporters, that it doesn’t matter what state you’re in, Trump is going to come by and say hello,” he said.

Mattucci said he hopes the visit inspires Golden State Republicans to remember that their vote does count, particularly when it comes to down ballot races. One key battleground LA County race is Congressional District 27 in the Antelope Valley where Republican Rep. Mike Garcia is facing a strong Democratic challenge from George Whitesides.

Tony Strickland, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign in Orange County, echoed Mattucci’s enthusiasm for Trump’s Palos Verdes event.

“I’m very excited that he’s coming to California,” he said, “Anytime we can get the presidential candidate to come out to California and do an event that’s not a fundraiser is a big positive.”

Tom O’Reilly, chair of the L.A. County Republican Party, said that Trump’s visit is a good thing for California’s slowing growing conservative movement. He pointed to a recent report from the Secretary of State, which showed that Republicans gained 46,000 registered voters statewide, while Democrats lost 30,000 in between October 2023 and January 2024.

“If conservatism is ever going to start changing this state as it should, Los Angeles is ground zero,” he said, “so it’s great to get the attention focused here.”

Neither Mattucci nor Strickland nor O’Reilly said they were surprised by the arguments made by Trump or Harris during Tuesday night’s debate when the pair sparred over the hot button issues of immigration, reproductive rights, national security and the economy.

“My guess is it (the debate) won’t cause any significant movement in the polls on either side,” Strickland said.

Strickland added that he was bothered the moderators didn’t push Harris harder on her “flip-flopping views” on major issues like banning fracking, eliminating private health insurance, enacting an electric vehicle mandate and decriminalizing border crossings.

“I’m disappointed because everybody has a right to change their position, but not many people change their position on so many vital issues facing America, and usually you have a story of what made you change that position,” he said. “I didn’t hear any of that from Kamala Harris.”

O’Reilly said he felt Harris’s performance was overly rehearsed whereas Trump “came off as he normally does: very relaxed, very intent on the things he says.”

Governor Gavin Newsom, on the other hand, waxed poetic about Harris’s performance.

“If this was a prize fight, they would have called it in the second round,” Newsom told ABC. Newsom also criticized Trump for focusing on complaining and blaming, instead of concrete policy solutions.

“We’re exhausted by his grievances,” said Newsom. “He’s got to grow up, grow out of them.”

Long Beach Rep. Robert Garcia, echoed this sentiment saying, “Donald Trump was angry, incoherent, and could not contain his anger. He showed us who he is: an unhinged and sad man with no real plan for the future.”

California GOP Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson, meanwhile, said Harris refused to take accountability for her “disastrous record” during the debate.

“Kamala Harris deserves credit for an open southern border that inspired millions of illegal crossings, Bidenflation that leaves too many living paycheck to paycheck, a war on American energy that drives up costs for consumers and incompetent foreign policy that leaves our nation less safe on the global stage,” said Patterson, in a statement.

With less than 55 days until the election, polling shows a tight race.

As of Sept. 11, Harris held a 2.8-point lead over Trump in the latest average of national polls, collated by FiveThirtyEight. When it comes to the seven key swing states, Harris holds the edge in three states, Trump leads in one, and the pair are practically tied in three states, according to the recent New York Times/Siena College polling.

Harris holds a more significant edge when it comes to fundraising.

The Harris campaign and Democratic National Committee reported raising a combined $361 million in August, leaving Harris with $404 million cash on hand at the start of September.

Trump’s campaign team reported that it and the Republican Party raised $130 million in August and had $295 million cash on hand at the beginning of the month.