Vice presidential nominee JD Vance visits East Palo Alto for fundraiser

Ohio Senator and Republican nominee for Vice President JD Vance attended a fundraiser hosted by BitGo CEO Mike Belshe at the Silicon Valley Four Seasons Hotel in East Palo Alto on Monday. 

Tickets started at $3,300 a person and went up to $50,000 a couple. According to the Santa Cruz County Republicans’ website, the event sold out. The Trump Campaign did not respond to questions from this news organization about how much money was raised.  

Vance’s visit to Silicon Valley comes after former President Donald Trump vowed to be a “pro-Bitcoin president” at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville. In May, Trump became the first presidential candidate to accept donations in cryptocurrency. According to him, the campaign has raised $25 million in crypto.

Belshe runs Palo Alto-based BitGo, which provides “core infrastructure” for crypto, according to its website. 

Many of the area’s local residents have donated large sums to Fair Shake Political Action Committee, which supports crypto-friendly lawmakers. In total, Federal Election Committee records indicate the PAC has raised over $200 million. 

Founders of Menlo Park-based AH Capital, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, both donated $12.5M to Fair Shake this year, each the largest donations from Silicon Valley ever according to FEC records. 

Before attendees could enter the Four Seasons, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad used K-9 units to detect explosives and ammunition in their cars. The East Palo Alto Police Department and the Atherton Police Department both assisted the Secret Service and Homeland Security with security. 

Atherton Cmdr. Dan Larsen confirmed that no federal agencies were allowed to access Atherton’s automated license plate readers.

Around 12 supporters awaited Vance’s arrival outside the Four Seasons for over two hours. 

His supporters waved flags at passing cars and shared stories of previous events while listening to music like “The Taliban Song” by Toby Keith and “Trump Won” by Natasha Owens. Some also handed out petitions to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“I am here to support Trump; he’s what’s best for our county,” said San Mateo resident Thea, who declined to give her last name. 

Many recognized each other from previous events such as when Trump attended a fundraiser in San Francisco in June that raised $12 million and was coordinated by Vance. 

Vance’s Silicon Valley connections and fundraising abilities were a major reason former President Donald Trump chose him as his running mate, according to The New York Times. At the San Francisco fundraiser, hosted by Atherton-based investor Chamath Palihapitiya and David Sacks, attendees encouraged Trump to pick Vance as his running mate, according to The Times. 

Vance worked as a venture capitalist at San Francisco-based Mithril Capital, co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel, and Revolution Ventures before co-founding his own firm, Narya. 

Eventually, one protester did appear wearing a ski mask and holding a sign reading “Couch F*cker,” a reference to a false claim in Vance’s best selling book, “Hillbilly Elegy.”  

“I am from East Palo Alto and as I was coming home from work, my sister told me JD Vance was coming here so I came out here,” said the protester, who declined to give his name.

When asked why he chose to wear a ski mask, he said, “I don’t want to cause problems. [The Trump supporters] have their First Amendment rights and I have mine.”

East Bay resident and mom of three Gina described how, when she first saw the protester, she did not know if he was for or against Trump, “There are Trump supporters from all walks of life, wearing many different kind of styles, and some are really against Biden and I didn’t understand the kinda ambiguous sign.” 

“We are just Trump supporters. We don’t have signs against Biden because we are ‘positive vibes only,’ just out here to support,” she added.