West
Trump gets warm reception and piles of campaign cash during sunny blue state swing
Former President Trump’s three days in Democrat-dominated California turned out to be lucrative in many ways.
When all the money is counted, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is expected to haul in roughly $27.5 million from three fundraisers he held in California and one in Las Vegas, Nevada, late last week and this past weekend, a senior campaign official told Fox News.
And the Trump campaign said an additional $6 million was raised for outside groups supporting his 2024 election rematch with President Biden.
But the former president also officially landed the endorsement of a major tech investor at his first fundraiser on Thursday, drew a large crowd of supporters as he arrived at an Orange County fundraiser on Saturday, and bracketed his California swing with rallies Thursday and Sunday in the crucial swing states of Arizona and Nevada.
TRUMP ENDORSEMENT IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE ANOTHER VICTORY FOR SENATE GOP CAMPAIGN CHAIR
Former President Trump points into the crowd during a campaign rally at Sunset Park in Las Vegas on June 9, 2024. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump campaign senior adviser Brian Hughes pointed to what he called “massive turnouts at public events and fundraising events this weekend” as he emphasized that “donors at every level are giving us the resources we need, and enthusiastic voters in every corner of the country are creating an unstoppable movement to Make America Great Again.”
Thursday’s fundraiser was hosted by David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya, two of the heaviest hitters in Silicon Valley and co-hosts of the hot “All-In” podcast. And it was held at Sacks’ multimillion-dollar home in the tony Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, which is a blue bastion.
“When we agreed to do this event, we started off – the question was whether we could just raise $5 million, and that was the goal because as you well know, the Bay Area, is sort of a liberal bastion, and so we thought that $5 million might be a big lift,” Sacks said in an interview on FOX Business’ “Kudlow” on Friday.
WHY TRUMP’S SAN FRANCISCO FUNDRAISER WAS FRUITFUL IN MORE THAN ONE WAY
But the fundraiser ended up bringing in approximately $12 million, more than doubling initial expectations, according to the Trump campaign.
And hours before the event, Sacks endorsed Trump.
The former president followed up the San Francisco fundraiser with big bucks finance events Friday in Beverly Hills and Saturday in Newport Beach, where some 3,000 supporters greeted Trump, according to local police.
Supporters of former President Trump react to his motorcade on the day he visits for a fundraiser in Newport Beach, California, June 8, 2024. (Reuters/David Swanson)
The trip doesn’t mean the Trump campaign thinks overwhelmingly blue California may be in play.
Instead, Trump’s appearances – like those of two sold-out fundraisers in the Bay Area on Wednesday headlined by Vice President Harris and Biden’s San Francisco area fundraisers last month – are the latest proof that the Golden State remains a crucial ATM for campaign cash.
“Republicans don’t do well in votes, but they do well in money in California,” longtime political analyst Bill Schneider told Fox News.
THIS IS HOW MUCH A TOP PRO-TRUMP SUPER PAC HAULED IN LAST MONTH
Schneider noted that the late GOP President Ronald Reagan, who lived for decades in the Golden State, “really blazed the trail of fundraising for Republicans in California.”
But he added that “both Democrats and Republicans use California for an ATM machine.”
Biden returns to California on Saturday, to team up with former President Obama, Hollywood superstars George Clooney and Julia Roberts, and late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, for a star-studded fundraiser in downtown Los Angeles.
Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama join President Biden at a star-studded fundraising event at Radio City Music Hall, on March 28, 2024, in New York City. (Getty Images)
A top Golden State Republican told Fox News that fundraising not only brings in campaign cash, but that it also sends a message.
“In California, there are many voters who seek a change in the White House, and contributing to presidential campaigns is a crucial way for us to make our voices heard beyond the ballot box. This form of participation sends a powerful message to the rest of the country that not all Californians align with the current political climate,” Corrin Rankin, California Republican Party vice chair, said.
“California stands as a case study of the failure of Democratic policies, with many residents experiencing firsthand the negative impacts of these policies,” Rankin argued. “As a result, Californians understand better than most the consequences of another four years under Biden’s administration. This has galvanized many to fundraise actively for a better alternative… Our fundraising success here underscores the diverse political landscape of California and the strong desire among many of its citizens for a different direction at the national level.”
The cash raised in the past few days will boost already potent Trump fundraising from the past couple of weeks.
Trump’s campaign last week said it and the Republican National Committee (RNC), fueled in part by the former president’s guilty verdicts in his criminal trial, hauled in a stunning $141 million in fundraising in May.
Trump was found guilty of all 34 felony counts in the first trial of a former or current president in the nation’s history.
The former president’s campaign highlighted that in the first 24 hours following the verdict, it and the RNC brought in nearly $53 million in fundraising, which counted toward May’s total.
The Biden campaign has also been fundraising off the Trump verdict, and a source familiar told Fox News that “the 24 hours after the verdict were one of the best fundraising 24 hours of the Biden campaign since launch.”
Trump has been aiming to close his fundraising gap with Biden. In April, his campaign and the RNC for the first time outraised the Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee.
Fundraising, along with public opinion polling, is a key metric used to measure the strength of candidates and their campaigns. Money raised can be used to build up grassroots outreach and get-out-the-vote operations, staffing, travel and ads, among other things.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
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West
US appeals court strikes down California’s open-carry ban in major Second Amendment ruling
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A federal appeals court on Friday struck down California’s ban on openly carrying guns across most of the state.
In a 2–1 decision, the San Francisco-based Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled California’s ban on open carry in counties with more than 200,000 people — covering roughly 95% of the state’s population — violates the Second Amendment, according to Reuters.
U.S. Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke, writing for the majority, said the ban conflicts with the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which requires gun regulations to be consistent with the nation’s “historical tradition of firearm regulation,” Reuters reported.
NRA SUES CALIFORNIA OVER BAN ON GLOCK-STYLE FIREARMS: ‘VIOLATES THE SECOND AMENDMENT’
U.S. Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke appears in a video released by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals March 20, 2025. (9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals/Handout via Reuters)
“The historical record makes unmistakably plain that open carry is part of this Nation’s history and tradition,” VanDyke wrote. “It was clearly protected at the time of the founding and at the time of the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment.”
VanDyke also noted that California previously allowed residents to openly carry holstered handguns for self-defense without penalty until 2012.
CALIFORNIA’S CRACKDOWN ON ‘LESS-LETHAL’ WEAPONS SPARKS 2A LAWSUIT TARGETING NEWSOM ADMINISTRATION
A pistol is concealed in a belt. (iStock)
“That changed only when California enacted its urban open-carry ban barely over a decade ago in 2012,” he said. “In doing so, California joined a tiny minority of states to have adopted such severe restrictions on open carry.”
The decision overturned part of a 2023 ruling by a lower court that had dismissed a lawsuit filed in 2019 by gun owner Mark Baird, while rejecting his challenge to open-carry licensing in smaller counties, according to Reuters.
FEDERAL APPEALS COURT RULES CALIFORNIA AMMUNITION BACKGROUND CHECKS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
A retail store in San Ramon, Calif., July 21, 2019. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
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In October, the National Rifle Association (NRA) and other gun groups said they were suing California over the state’s ban on Glock-style guns with features known as switches that allow them to be converted to fully automatic weapons.
The NRA was joined by the Firearms Policy Coalition, Second Amendment Foundation, Poway Weapons & Gear, and two NRA members in challenging the state’s ban.
Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.
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San Francisco, CA
Philadelphia Eagles to play San Francisco 49ers in NFL playoffs. Here’s what you need to know.
The Philadelphia Eagles will begin the playoffs against the San Francisco 49ers in the wild-card round next weekend at Lincoln Financial Field.
The Birds (No. 3 seed) had a chance to earn the No. 2 seed with a win, but lost to the Washington Commanders in the regular season finale.
Here’s what you need to know about the matchup vs. the 49ers and more.
Which day will the Eagles and 49ers play?
The date and time of the wild-card round matchup between the Eagles and 49ers have yet to be announced, but playoff games are scheduled for Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Two games will take place Saturday, three will happen Sunday and the final first-round matchup will be on Monday night.
Eagles and 49ers postseason history
The Eagles and 49ers have only met twice in postseason history, most recently in the NFC championship game in the 2022 season.
The Eagles won that game, 31-7, before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII. In that game, the 49ers were decimated at quarterback as Brock Purdy and Josh Johnson suffered injuries.
After Johnson exited, Purdy returned to the game in the third quarter, but he was unable to throw the football beyond a few yards. The injuries to San Francisco’s quarterbacks led to the NFL approving a rule change that allows teams to play an emergency quarterback if the starter and backup are injured.
The Eagles are 1-1 vs. San Francisco all-time in the playoffs. Philadelphia’s loss to the 49ers in the playoffs happened in the wild-card round in 1996.
The title game in the 2022 season between the Eagles and 49ers started a rivalry that boiled over into 2023.
In 2023, the 49ers traveled to Lincoln Financial Field in Week 13 and dominated the Eagles, 42-19. The loss started the infamous collapse for the Eagles to end the season as the Birds lost six of the final seven games, including the playoff exit vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The loss to the Niners in the 2023 season also featured Eagles security chief Dom DiSandro and then-49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw being ejected from the game after a scuffle on the sideline.
The Eagles and 49ers haven’t played each other since the 2023 season.
How the Eagles and 49ers got here
The Eagles went 11-6 in the 2025 season and won the NFC East for the second consecutive year, which ended a 20-year stretch of the division not having a repeat winner.
The Niners had a chance to earn the No. 1 seed, but fell to the Seattle Seahawks Saturday night. The 49ers finished the year with a 12-5 record to earn the No. 6 seed.
Denver, CO
Broncos clinch AFC’s No. 1 seed, home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs
DENVER — The Broncos have checked off their second goal of the season.
Denver officially clinched the AFC’s No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs with Sunday’s 19-3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
As the top seed, the Broncos will receive a first-round bye in the 2025 playoffs and will host their first playoff game of the year in the Divisional Round on Saturday, Jan. 17 or Sunday, Jan. 18 at Empower Field at Mile High.
The Broncos, the lone team in the AFC to receive a first-round bye, will host the lowest remaining seed in the AFC playoff field in the Divisional Round. Denver’s possible opponents for its playoff opener include the Texans, Bills, Chargers and the yet-to-be-determined winner of the AFC North. If the Broncos earn a win in the Divisional Round, they would also host the AFC Championship Game.
Denver finished the 2025 regular season with a 14-3 mark, which is tied for the most regular-season wins in franchise history. The Broncos earned the No. 1 seed over the Patriots (14-3) due to a better record in games against common opponents.
The Broncos are the No. 1 seed in the AFC for the first time since 2015, when they went on to win Super Bowl 50. Denver has earned the No. 1 seed for an AFC-best ninth time, and two of the Broncos’ three Super Bowl titles have come after earning the No. 1 seed. The Broncos advanced to the Super Bowl in six of the eight previous seasons in which Denver earned the top seed in the conference.
Broncos Head Coach Sean Payton has now led teams to the No. 1 seed on three occasions in his career, and he is one of five coaches to lead two different organizations to a No. 1 seed.
Bo Nix, meanwhile, became the fourth quarterback in franchise history to lead the organization to a No. 1 seed — joining Ring of Famers John Elway, Peyton Manning and Craig Morton.
Learn more about playoff tickets and suites by visiting DenverBroncos.com/Tickets
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