Former presidents Obama and Clinton help Biden with record fundraising

NOS News•today, 12:55•Amended today, 1:48 PM

Performances by Queen Latifah and Lizzo, a conversation with former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton and an afterparty with 500 guests, with Jill Biden and DJ D-Nice as hosts. The Democrats pulled out all the stops in New York yesterday to raise money for Joe Biden’s re-election campaign, resulting in a record proceeds of just over 24 million euros.

Obama had flown from Washington to New York with Biden in Air Force One, the presidential plane. During the so-called fundraiser Obama, Clinton and Biden talked for an hour in the Radio City Music Hall.

The conversation was moderated by well-known talk show host Stephen Colbert. Obama talked about “the kind of president I want,” referring to Biden. Clinton also called on the public to make Biden the greatest again: “Stay with what works”.

This is what the three’s turnout looked like:

In principle, Biden did not have to win votes in New York. The state has been Democratic-leaning for years: since 1988, Biden’s party has always been the largest in presidential elections.

What it was all about was raising as much money as possible. In any case, about 5,000 people had turned up for the evening, paying at least $225. A photo with all three (former) presidents cost $100,000. People who paid half a million dollars for a ticket were allowed to talk to Obama, Clinton or Biden in smaller groups.

The evening was not completely quiet and festive. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators had gathered in front of the building. And they also made themselves heard inside. “Shame on you, Joe Biden,” one of them shouted when discussing the war in Gaza.

Obama tried to counter the criticism: “People often want to feel a certain purity in the way decisions are made, and I understand that. But a president doesn’t have that luxury.”

The Democrats’ campaign coffers were further replenished during the evening in New York, but Biden already had a significant financial lead over his opponent Donald Trump. The AP news agency reported two weeks ago that the Democrats had 155 million dollars for the campaign.

The Republicans are said to have $37 million in cash. This is partly because Trump has spent a lot of money on all the lawsuits against him, costs that he partly pays from party donations. Trump also hopes to raise tens of millions at a fundraising event in Palm Beach, Florida, next week.

According to American expert Kenneth Manusama, the Republican Party traditionally has fewer major donors than the Democrats. “But you also see a kind of fatigue among Trump’s donors, because of all the lawsuits. As a result, some are dropping out.”

The money that Biden raised yesterday will largely go to the visibility of his campaign, Manusama expects: “It can pay for commercials and the Democrats also want to ensure that there is a strong campaign apparatus in every state.”

The fundraising in New York will not have resulted in direct votes, but with the actions of Obama and Clinton, the Democrats are trying to “unify the party”, says Manusama: “Some cracks have emerged, for example over the war in Gaza and Ukraine. And there are doubts about Biden’s age. Biden, Obama and Clinton want to radiate unity within the Democratic party.”