Here are the photos from inside Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s lavish, closed-door Napa Valley fundraiser that sparked a fierce back-and-forth with Sen. Elizabeth Warren during Thursday’s Democratic debate.
The images, tweeted by Recode reporter Teddy Schleifer on Monday, show donors dining with the South Bend, Indiana, mayor in the Hall Rutherford wine caves, beneath a chandelier decked in 1,500 Swarovski crystals.
The wine caves also feature an onyx banquet table to reflect the chandelier’s lights and bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon that sell for as much as $900 a pop.
The fundraiser was hosted by Craig and Kathryn Hall, the winery’s billionaire owners, according to an invitation obtained by The Associated Press.
Guests included a who’s-who of Silicon Valley bigs, including Netflix CEO and co-founder Reed Hastings; Nicole Shanahan, the wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin; Wendy Schmidt, the wife of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt; and Michelle Sandberg, the sister of Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, sources told Recode.
Members of the press could view Buttigieg’s prepared remarks but only one pool reporter was allowed inside, for part of the event.
The images drew a lot of snark.
“Wonder if they cracked open the $900 bottle of Cabernet they have on the menu?” tweeted activist filmmaker Adam Best. “Mayor Pete’s campaign is really letting him live that ‘Puff Daddy music video’ life.”
Even “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert joined in.
“You’ve gotta have onyx,” Colbert joked on his show Tuesday. “You know how hard it is to get human sacrifice stains out of walnut?”
Faiz Shakir, who serves as campaign manager for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, quipped on Twitter: “Not $18 donors?”
The Sanders campaign also registered the domain “peteswinecave.com” to use as a fundraising portal for themselves.
Both Sanders and Warren have blasted candidates who take cash from billionaire donors and closed-door fundraisers.
“Those doors shouldn’t be closed, and no one should be left to wonder what kind of promises are being made to the people that then pony up big bucks to be in the room,” Warren said earlier this month.
Buttigieg campaign spokesman Chris Meagher waved off concerns that such fundraisers could lead to people buying their way into administration positions.
“We are proud to have the support of more than 700,000 grassroots donors across the country who are helping power this campaign,” Meagher told AP. “The only thing people are promised at an event with Pete is that he will use that money to beat Donald Trump.”
With Post wires