Amid reports that he has selected a running mate, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump criss-crossed the Southland Thursday on a fundraising swing that will be highlighted by a Bel Air gathering with a top ticket price of $449,400 per couple.
Trump’s fundraising efforts were overshadowed by multiple reports that he plans to officially name Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his vice presidential pick. The announcement was originally expected to be made at a Friday news conference, but Trump announced late today he was postponing his news conference in light of an attack in Nice, France, that left dozens of people dead.
The Trump campaign did not confirm the vice presidential choice, but multiple national media outlets reported that Trump had already contacted Pence, who accepted the offer to join the Republican presidential ticket.
Pence, 57, a social and fiscal conservative with strong Christian beliefs, previously hosted a conservative talk radio show in Indiana. He was one of the original backers of efforts to de-fund Planned Parenthood. As governor, he made national news last year when he signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which was denounced by many as allowing discrimination of gays and lesbians.
Some Democrats were quick to disparage Pence. Alex Rooker, first vice chair of the California Democratic Party, called him a “homophobic neanderthal” whose views “fit right into Donald Trump’s anthology of hate.”
The speculation over the vice presidential pick pushed Trump’s fundraising efforts into the background, but the candidate was making the most of his time in Southern California as he worked to pad his campaign war chest.
The $449,400-per-couple ticket price for tonight’s Bel-Air event is based on the maximum individual contributions permitted to a presidential candidate, $2,700, the maximum to a national party committee, $33,400, and the $100,200 maximum to additional national party accounts which pay for the national convention and national party headquarters buildings.
Additional funds go to various state Republican parties.
The ticket purchasers will join Trump for dinner, have a photo taken with him, be admitted to an earlier reception and be part of the campaign’s “Presidential Trust,” according to an invitation obtained by City News Service.
A couple paying $250,000 will also join Trump for dinner, have a photo taken with him, be admitted to the reception and be part of the campaign’s “Chairman’s Circle.”
A couple paying $100,000 will also join Trump for dinner, have a photo taken with him, be admitted to the reception and be designated as a vice chair of the event.
The cost to attend the dinner, reception and have a photo taken with Trump is $25,000 per person.
Having a picture taken with Trump and being admitted to the reception is $10,800 per couple.
Admission to the reception is $2,700 per person.
Trump also put on a fundraiser at his Beverly Hills house on Rodeo Drive. Details were not released, but there was a visible police presence around the property. A watch commander for the Beverly Hills Police Department could not confirm the schedule, but did say officers were at the house to provide security.
Trump was also believed to be sandwiching a Newport Beach fundraiser between today’s Los Angeles events.
—City News Service