Former president Donald Trump is set to visit San Francisco Thursday for a major campaign fundraiser hosted by two Silicon Valley venture capitalists.
Trump's fundraiser will be co-hosted by David and Jacqueline Sacks as well as investor Chamath Palihapitiya. David Sacks stands out as a champion of Trump among San Francisco's elite, who tend to spend big on Democratic campaigns instead.
Invitations advertise VIP tickets to the event at $50,000 per person, but those wishing to join the host committee need to cough up $300,000 each.
“We organized so many groups and tomorrow, we're going to have a car parade, we're going to have food, we're gonna drum, we're gonna have music,” said Ellen Lee Zhou, candidate for Mayor of San Francisco.
John Dennis chairs the San Francisco Republican Party. He said that more San Franciscans are registering as Republicans, outpacing the city's Democrats ahead of November, and campaign donations are pouring in from Trump supporters.
"Frankly, chomping at the bit, ready to get involved in this election going into November,” he said.
In addition to the fundraiser, Trump will also be greeted by a 33-foot-tall bird lookalike from his opponents.
The Trump Chicken towers three stories tall, equipped with a gold sideswept hairdo and a black and white prison uniform. Danelle Morton, one of the organizers of the demonstration, scrambled to collect a crew to steer the bird across San Francisco Bay during the fundraising event.
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“We're going to sail it towards the Golden Gate Bridge and sail it back and forth because the fundraiser is up on the hill, overlooking the Bay and we'd like to be right in the center of their view,” Morton said.
It's not the first time the bird has loomed over San Francisco. Morton and other organizers first erected the chicken in 2017 during the city's Trump Tax March; they inflated it again in 2021 after Biden was elected.
Since then, the Trump Chicken has been collecting dust in a storage facility. Morton said she never thought there would be an occasion to bring out the bird again.
Besides the chicken, Trump's upcoming visit has yet to spark murmurings of bigger demonstrations. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden's fundraising trip to the Bay Area last month was met with dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters.
On Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris was also met with pro-Palestinian protesters.
Dennis told NBC Bay Area that he's asked San Francisco police to bolster security at the Marina Green, in case of counter-protesters.
