President Biden and former President Barack Obama appeared on stage with late-night host Jimmy Kimmel in Los Angeles on Saturday night, during a conversation that mocked former President Trump, touted the Democratic incumbent’s policy record and urged voters to head to the polls in November.
“I could have done better than him without doing anything,” Biden said when asked about the former Republican president, whom Kimmel called “Orange Julius Caesar,” before touting the strength of the country’s economy, low unemployment and other accomplishments. “We’re trying to give regular people a chance. Just a chance.”
Obama added that Biden has pushed for policies that build on those in place when Obama was president and Biden was vice president, including expanding access to the Affordable Care Act and increasing funding for efforts to stop climate change.
“The presidency is like a relay race: You receive the baton, you run the race, and then you hand it off to your successor,” Obama said. “I’m very proud of what the Biden administration has accomplished, and this election reminds me that we don’t have to just vote no. … But we can take pride in recognizing the great job that Joe’s done.”
The star-studded fundraiser at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles is expected to raise at least $28 million, the most money ever raised at a single-night event in the history of the Democratic Party.
Obama, George Clooney and Julia Roberts were among the headliners. Thousands of Biden supporters paid anything from $250 for seats away from the stage to $500,000 for ticket packages that included prime seating, photo opportunities with both presidents and a VIP afterparty to attend what is likely to be one of the president’s last major Los Angeles fundraisers before the November election.
“This Saturday, we will see an unprecedented, record-breaking turnout from the media and entertainment industries,” said media mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg, a Democratic megadonor and the only unelected official to serve as co-chair of the president’s reelection campaign. “The enthusiasm and commitment to Biden-Harris couldn’t be stronger. We all understand this is the most important election of our lifetimes.”
Among the elected officials and celebrities at or near the theater before the fundraiser began were Barbra Streisand, Governor Gavin Newsom, Congressmen Ted Lieu, Robert Garcia, Nanette Díaz Barragán, and Grace F. Napolitano, singers Paul Anka and Katzenberg. Also seen was Los Angeles City Council Member Kevin de Leon, who, along with other City Council members, was included in leaked audio making racist and derogatory comments that President Biden urged him to resign in October 2022.
The public entrance to LA Live was fenced off all afternoon, while smartly dressed attendees mingled with T-shirt-wearing tourists on the sidewalk. Private security and LAPD officers stationed around the venue allowed patrons in to restaurants around the venue.
A pro-Palestinian protester holds a sign outside a Biden fundraiser.
(Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times)
At about 5 p.m., several hundred pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside Crypto.com Arena and the adjacent JW Marriott hotel, waving Palestinian flags and chanting slogans such as “Biden, Biden, can’t you see, Palestine will be free.”
A group blocked the entrance to a fundraiser near the hotel and sat in front of the gate, while confused protesters approached, wondering how they were going to get in. They were allowed in through a gate near the arena, as protesters chanted “Shame on you!”
Protesters then closed the hotel’s gates and then blocked the road outside the hotel.
Jennifer Jajeh, a Palestinian who lives in South Los Angeles, stood at the entrance to the fundraiser and confronted people as they entered.
“People on the ground in Gaza are experiencing fear every moment of their lives,” Jajeh said. “I think people who support candidates who support genocide should feel some discomfort. Kathy Griffin, you deserve two minutes of yelling.”
Crowds of protesters began to disperse by 7 p.m. A Los Angeles Police Department spokesman said no arrests had been made.
Police officers respond to a protest near a Biden campaign event outside the Peacock Theatre.
(Alex Brandon/The Associated Press)
The incident comes at a crucial time for Biden.
The Democrat has outraised Trump in California and nationwide, but the former president has seen his donations soar since he was convicted in late May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels, who allegedly performed a sexual act on him during a golf tournament in Lake Tahoe in an attempt to influence the 2016 presidential election.
Trump’s first fundraiser since his conviction was in California this month.
The fundraising in California comes at a tough time for both presumptive 2024 presidential candidates, who have a close race in national and battleground state polls. Some voters are older and more indifferent to Biden and Trump, but are worried about domestic economic problems as well as global turmoil, including the protracted wars between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Hamas.
Biden departed late Friday night from the G7 summit in Italy, where Western leaders gather to address global issues such as trade, the economy and security, and from private meetings with Pope Francis. After refueling at an air force base in Maryland, the president arrived in Los Angeles around dawn on Saturday.
It’s unclear how Biden spent his time after landing, but his son Hunter, who was convicted this week on three firearms-related felony charges, lives in Malibu. In February, Biden spent about 90 minutes with his son and grandson at the Ivy restaurant for Hunter’s 54th birthday.
Biden’s son has yet to be convicted on a gun charge that will almost certainly be appealed, and he also faces nine federal tax charges in California.