Ron DeSantis heads to California for Donald Trump fundraiser

Ron DeSantis in San Francisco. Screenshot via DeSantis For President.

Florida’s Governor is headed back to the Golden State Thursday to hit up donors for Donald Trump.

Gov. Ron DeSantis will be in Monterey during the evening for an event with the California Republican Assembly.

The Right for America PAC, which does not have contribution limits, is charging $1,000 a head for the VIP reception and speech. For those with deeper pockets, the “private dinner with Gov. DeSantis at the Monterra Mansion” is $5,000 per person.

No word from organizers on whether pudding will be served, or whether utensils will be required if so.

If you’re going, you have a few hours to commit: “For security reasons, all contribution payments must be received by July 31st for admittance into the event.”

DeSantis has a long history with California, which was a rhetorical punching bag for him when he ran for President. He got no traction in that race; he polled at 6% in the final Golden State survey before he ended his campaign.

But he made plenty of news, including being condemned by the Salinas City Council ahead of a fundraising event in the city.

On a trip to the Port of Long Beach, DeSantis was flanked by truck drivers as he vowed to “take action” against California’s “electric mandates for big rigs.”

DeSantis has also used California as a public safety punching bag on the trail, both in the state and outside of it.

“I was just in San Francisco. I saw — in 20 minutes on the ground — people defecating on the sidewalk. I saw people using fentanyl. I saw people smoking crack right there in the open, right there on the street. It was a civilization in decay,” the Governor said at a Faith & Freedom Coalition event in June 2023.

In recent weeks, DeSantis has been fundraising for the former President, and hopes are that he can help Trump’s operation get a $10 million boost.

DeSantis is putting work in on the 2024 cycle, but that doesn’t mean that he won’t run for President again if Trump loses.

“Oh, I haven’t ruled anything out. I mean, I think that, you know, we’re still in this election cycle so it’s presumptuous to say, you know, this or that. I think a lot happens in politics,” DeSantis said in February, addressing the 2028 question during a call with people who pledged to be his delegates at the GOP Convention.

“Most of the people that supported me, whether activists, whether volunteers, whether fundraisers, you know, they’re all on board, you know, for what the future holds. So we’ll be active,” DeSantis promised a radio host in Iowa back in January.