Craft Ventures co-founder David Sacks joined "Kudlow" on Friday, telling host Larry Kudlow the fundraiser he and another Silicon Valley venture capitalist recently held for former President Trump had "tremendous turnout" and exceeded expectations.
"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.
Instead, the fundraiser co-hosted by Chamath Paliphapitiya ultimately wound up bringing the Republican presidential candidate quite a bit more than that – a $12 million haul, as previously reported by Fox News. It occurred Thursday in San Francisco.
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Sacks said the event had "tremendous turnout" with around 100 people in attendance.
"We couldn’t fit one more seat in the place," he said. "We were completely sold out."
He told Kudlow the "enthusiasm" could also be felt "outside the room."
Many pro-Trump demonstrators showed up in the area of the Thursday night fundraiser. That group, according to Sacks, was much larger than the "just a handful" of anti-Trump protesters present.
"Even with the protesters, there was a tremendous enthusiasm gap between the pro-Trump side and the pro-Biden side," Sacks said. "And if that’s in liberal San Francisco, what does that tell you about the rest of the country?"
Asked what key issues mattered most to people in Silicon Valley and could influence which presidential candidate they decided to support, Sacks pointed to the economy. Other issues he identified as important included foreign policy, the border and lawfare.
Inflation and the economy have been high on the minds of voters for quite some time. In April, inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index went up 0.3% month-over-month and 3.4% year-over-year, according to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Both Trump and President Biden have recently been ratcheting up their campaigning as the November election inches even closer.
Fox News Digital's Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
