President Joe Biden returned to the South today for a star-studded campaign fundraiser in downtown Los Angeles, which is also scheduled to feature former President Barack Obama and celebrity supporters George Clooney and Julia Roberts.
Air Force One landed at Los Angeles International Airport at 5:04 a.m. Saturday. Biden and his daughter, Ashley Biden, disembarked from the plane at 5:32 a.m., according to a White House investigative report.
Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel will also be at the Peacock Theater rally and moderate the Biden-Obama debate. The event is expected to be similar to a Biden campaign fundraiser in New York City in March, where talk show host Stephen Colbert moderated a debate between Biden, Obama and former President Bill Clinton.
Tickets for the exclusive gathering start at $250 and go up to as much as $500,000 for tickets that include seating at the front of the venue, photo opportunities, and an afterparty, according to various reports.
“This event has already raised more than $28 million and counting, making it the largest fundraising event in Democratic history,” the Biden campaign said in a statement Saturday morning. The New York event in March raised $26 million, according to The New York Times.
Among the event’s organizers is entertainment mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg, co-chair of the Biden 2024 campaign.
“This Saturday, we will have an unprecedented, record-breaking turnout from across the media and entertainment industries,” Katzenberg said in remarks reported by the Los Angeles Times. “The enthusiasm and enthusiasm for Biden-Harris couldn’t be higher. We all understand this is the most important election of our lifetimes.”
Actors Jason Bateman, Jack Black, Kathryn Hahn and Sheryl Lee Ralph are also scheduled to attend Saturday’s rally.
The fundraiser could be Biden’s last major appearance in the South before the November election, a key event for an incumbent president troubled by continuing consumer dissatisfaction with grocery and gasoline prices and growing divisions over the U.S.’s position in Israel’s war with Hamas.
At least one protest is known to be planned ahead of the president’s visit: a group called “Jews, Palestinians and Allies of Jewish Voice for Peace of Los Angeles” planned a demonstration outside the Peacock Theatre, calling on the US to “immediately implement an arms embargo on US arms sales to Israel and end the ongoing genocide against Palestinians.”
Meanwhile, the California Republican Party slammed the big-ticket fundraiser.
“What better way to say to struggling Americans that we understand your plight and we stand by to help,’ than to spend the evening with the incredibly approachable George Clooney, Julia Roberts and other Hollywood celebrities,” California Republican Party Chair Jessica Milan Patterson said in a statement.
“What you’ll find at President Biden’s glitzy Los Angeles party will be anti-Israel protests that divide the party, excuses that problems like inflation and illegal immigration are not as bad as Californians perceive them to be, and a swarm of naive Hollywood elites who fear their standard-bearer will not be up to the task.
“What you probably won’t see is a targeting of Democratic congressional representatives and candidates who will never want to be anywhere near the deeply unpopular Biden,” she said. “Typical Democratic Hollywood money-making won’t be enough to keep voters from trying to get Biden out of office in November.”
Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, also visited the Southland last week to raise money. He spoke at a fundraiser in Newport Beach, where tickets cost $3,300 for a luncheon reception and $100,000 for a spot on the hosting committee. Prices for a photo with Trump started at $35,000.
Trump also attended fundraisers in Beverly Hills, where tickets ranged from $5,000 to $250,000.
Biden’s last visit to the Los Angeles area was in late February, when he attended a fundraiser at the home of Israeli-American media mogul Haim Saban in the gated Beverly Park neighborhood off Mulholland Drive.
According to entertainment news site Deadline, tickets to the event range from $3,300 to $250,000, and donors who donate at least $25,000 will be eligible to have their photo taken with Biden.
Biden also made brief stops in Los Angeles on February 3 and 4, meeting with entertainment industry leaders to lobby for support for his campaign. The Times reported that the meetings took place at a home owned by George Lucas.
Biden was in the region for two days in December for fundraisers and rallies, including one at the homes of investors Jose Feliciano and Kwanza Jones, and a star-studded event in Holmby Hills that included performances from Steven Spielberg, Rob Reiner, Shonda Rhimes, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Mayor Karen Bass and her former opponent, developer Rick Caruso, and Lenny Kravitz.