Biden raises over $28 million ahead of Hollywood fundraiser featuring Obama, dozens of celebrity supporters

Within 24 hours, President Joe Biden will have passed from the G7 Summit to George Clooney.

Biden left Italy on Friday night, after a meeting with world leaders, and arrived in Los Angeles on Saturday morning, before a star-studded fundraising night with former President Barack Obama, talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, Clooney and actress Julia Roberts.

The Biden-Harris campaign says it has already raised $28 million for Saturday night’s event, a record amount for a single Democratic fundraiser. It also eclipses the $26 million that Biden’s campaign raised in a March fundraiser in New York City with Biden, Obama and former President Bill Clinton.

Saturday’s star-studded event will feature a moderated interview of Biden and Obama by Kimmel, which is expected to focus on healthcare. Kimmel has been a public supporter of the Affordable Care Act, passed by Obama and Biden, after his newborn son underwent open-heart surgery in 2017.

Clooney and Roberts will host Saturday’s event. Appearances are also expected from actors Jason Bateman, Jack Black, Kathryn Hahn and Sheryl Lee Ralph, as well as an undisclosed musical guest.

Other celebrities, including Keegan-Michael Key, Connie Britton, Misha Collins, Jeri Ryan, Jonathan Del Arco, Mandana Dayani, Blake Cooper Griffin and Adam Met, will be in attendance, according to the Biden campaign.

Ticket prices for Saturday’s event ranged from $250,000 to $500,000, although local donors could contribute $20 to attend the fundraiser virtually.

Hollywood actors have been present at the Biden support campaign in recent weeks. Robert De Niro attended a campaign press conference in May outside the Manhattan courthouse where former President Donald Trump’s trial was taking place. Ralph of “Abbott Elementary” campaigned with Vice President Kamala Harris in Pennsylvania, and Jane Fonda appeared at a campaign event in Reno, Nevada, with first lady Jill Biden on Friday.

The money arrives at a time when the race is tight between Biden and Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate. A CBS News Poll as of June, Biden is up 1 point in swing states, a virtual tie. The Biden campaign says the money raised Saturday will go toward growing its base operations (field offices, staff) and paid media.

“This Saturday we will see unprecedented and record participation from the world of media and entertainment. The enthusiasm and commitment to Biden/Harris could not be stronger. We all understand that this is the most important election of our lifetime,” he said. said Biden-Harris campaign co-chair and film producer Jeffrey Katzenberg.

While Biden has maintained a sizable financial advantage for most of the cycle, Trump has seen his own fundraising grow. His campaign says they raised US$52.8 million in the 24 hours after he was convicted of 34 criminal charges in his “silence” trial.

The Trump campaign says it also raised a record of US$50.5 million at an April fundraiser in Florida.

Mr. Clooney’s involvement in fundraising brought some intrigue after the Washington Post reported in June that he had called a White House adviser to air his grievances over Biden’s criticism of the International Criminal Court (ICC), where Clooney’s wife, Amal, works. Biden criticized the ICC request for arrest warrants Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Several days later, the Biden campaign sent a fundraising text from Clooney.

“I am not exaggerating when I say that this election is the fight of our lives,” says Clooney’s text. “It’s a choice between those who want to take America back to the past and those who want to take America into the future.”