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A convicted felon who wants to be president, and an incumbent vice president who supports what in San Francisco is a deeply unpopular war in Gaza, both arrived in town last week—and the crowds protesting Kamala Harris were far larger than the handful of folks who showed up outside a Donald Trump fundraiser, hosted by tech moguls David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya.
In fact, most of the people gathered at the gates of a tightly controlled event in Pacific Heights were Trump fans.
It’s a complicated situation: Harris is part of the current administration, and many San Franciscans are furious about Israel’s bloody campaign in Gaza, and the Biden Administration’s support for the killings.
Trump, based on his past record, would be even more close to and supportive of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and he has been outspoken in his attacks on almost everything a majority of San Franciscans support, but he’s not in office.
California is going to vote for Biden anyway.
This is all part of the political discussion for the next few months, particularly as tens of thousands of protesters are likely headed for Chicago for the Democratic National Convention.
In the meantime, a lot of Trump folks are getting involved in San Francisco politics—and some Democrats are happy to be taking their money.
So, for the record: Thanks to a source who was close to the event, I have the list of everyone who joined Trump for cocktails and dinner. It will be interesting to see how many of these folks wind up donating to the independent expenditure campaigns seeking to move this city far to the right. And, as you can see, there are some familiar names from both the tech and “old money” SF world.
