Some of Hollywood’s brightest stars headlined a fundraiser for President Joe Biden that his campaign said raised a record more than $30 million for a Democratic candidate, hoping to galvanize potential supporters for a White House contest they say could be among the best. most consequential in US history.
George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Barbra Streisand were among those who took the stage at the 7,100-seat Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Saturday night. Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel interviewed Biden and former President Barack Obama, both of whom emphasized the need to defeat former President Donald Trump in a race that is expected to be extremely close.
During a discussion lasting more than half an hour, Kimmel asked whether the country was suffering from amnesia about the presumptive Republican nominee, to which Biden replied, “all we have to do is remember what it was like” when Trump was in the White House.
Celebrities from the entertainment world are increasingly lining up to help Biden’s campaign, and how important the event was to his re-election bid was seen in Biden’s decision to fly through nine time zones through the night, from the G7 summit in South -Italy to southern Italy. California, to attend.
He also missed a summit in Switzerland on ways to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, instead sending Vice President Kamala Harris, who himself was on a whirlwind trip to represent the United States there, a stark reminder of the delicate balancing geopolitics and Biden’s attempt to represent the United States. win a second term.
What further exposed the political implications was that police in riot gear stood outside the theater. A group of demonstrators angry about the Biden administration’s handling of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza demonstrated nearby.
The fundraiser included singing from Jack Black and Sheryl Lee Ralph, and actors Kathryn Hahn and Jason Bateman introduced Kimmel, who himself introduced Biden and Obama. The comedian deadpanned, “I was told I was introduced by Batman, not Bateman.”
But he quickly moved on to much more serious topics, saying that “there is so much at stake in this election” and listing women’s rights and health care, noting that “even the vote is on the ballot” in a reference to the calls of the Biden administration to expand voting rights.
Kimmel asked the president what he was most proud of, and Biden said he thought the administration’s approach to the economy was “working.”
“We have the strongest economy in the world today,” Biden said, adding, “we’re trying to give everyday people an equal opportunity.”
Trump spent Saturday campaigning in Detroit and criticized Biden’s handling of the economy and inflation. The president was raising money “from elite Hollywood celebrities,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said.
But Biden told the crowd in California that “we passed every major piece of legislation that we tried to get done.” And Obama expressed admiration for sweeping legislation on health care, public works, the environment, technology manufacturing, gun safety and other key initiatives overseen by his former vice president’s administration.
“What we’re seeing now is a byproduct of 2016. There was a whole group of people who, for whatever reason, sat outside,” said Obama, who, like Biden, wore a dark suit and a white shirt with an open collar. .
Obama, speaking about the Supreme Court, added that “hopefully we’ve learned our lesson, because this election matters in very real ways.”
Trump nominated three justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion. The audience expressed dismay at the mention of Roe, to which Obama responded, “don’t hiss, vote.” That was a play on his usual refrain, prioritizing voices over booing.
Biden said whoever was elected president in November could get the chance to appoint two new justices, although a second Biden term would likely not dramatically change a court given the current 6-3 conservative majority.
He also suggested that if Trump wins back the White House, “one of the scariest parts” would be the Supreme Court and that the Supreme Court has “never been so far out of line.”
Biden also referenced reports that an upside-down flag, a symbol linked to Trump’s false claims of election fraud, was raised outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in January 2021. He worried Saturday that if Trump is re-elected, “he’s going to appoint two more who fly their flags upside down.”
Kimmel offered his special brand of humor throughout the evening. At one point he asked how a president can get back at a talk show host who makes fun of him every night on TV.
“Have you ever heard of Delta Force?” Biden responded, referring to the Army’s special operations unit.
Earlier in the program, Kimmel noted Biden’s campaign promise to restore the soul of America, saying “lately it seems like we might need an exorcism.” Then he asked Biden, “Is that why you visited the Pope?” Biden and Pope Francis met in Italy on Friday.
The amount raised surpassed the then-record $26 million from Biden’s March fundraiser at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, where late-night host Stephen Colbert interviewed Biden, Obama and former President Bill Clinton.
Biden had an early lead in the race for campaign cash against Trump, but the former president has gained ground since formalizing the Republican nomination.
Trump surpassed Biden’s event in New York by raising $50.5 million at an April meeting of major donors at billionaire investor John Paulson’s Florida home. The former president’s campaign and the Republican National Committee announced they had raised as much as $141 million in May, supplemented by tens of millions of dollars in contributions that poured in after Trump’s guilty verdict in his criminal hush-money trial.
That post-conviction increase came after Trump and the Republican Party announced they had raised $76 million in April, far more than Biden and the Democrats’ $51 million for that month.
