LOS ANGELES — Some of Hollywood’s brightest stars attended a glitzy fundraiser for President Joe Biden on Saturday night that helped raise $28 million according to his reelection campaign and hoped to energize potential supporters for the November election, which he says is one of the most important in the nation’s history.
George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Barbra Streisand were among those who took the stage at the 7,100-seat Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles. Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel interviewed Biden and former President Barack Obama, who stressed the need to defeat former President Donald Trump in a race that is expected to be extremely close.
During the discussion, which lasted more than half an hour, Kimmel asked if the country suffers from amnesia about the presumptive Republican nominee, to which Biden responded, “We just have to remember what it was like when Trump was in the White House.”
Entertainment giants are coming forward to help Biden’s campaign, and just how important the event was to his re-election effort was seen by the Democratic president’s decision to fly overnight from the G-7 summit in southern Italy to Southern California, crossing nine time zones, to attend.
He also did not attend a summit in Switzerland to discuss ways to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, instead sending Vice President Kamala Harris, who made a whirlwind trip of her own, to represent the United States, a stark reminder of the delicate balance between geopolitics and Biden’s effort to win a second term.
Further clarifying its political implications, police in anti-riot gear were stationed outside the theater, prepared for protests by pro-Palestinian activists angered by his administration’s handling of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
The event featured vocals by Jack Black and Sheryl Lee Ralph, and actors Kathryn Hahn and Jason Bateman introduced Kimmel, who introduced Biden and Obama. “I was told I was being introduced by Batman, not Bateman,” the comedian said.
But he quickly turned to more serious topics, saying there’s “a lot at stake in this election” and listing women’s rights, health care and that “even federal funding is on the ballot,” a reference to the Biden administration’s call to expand voting rights.
Kimmel asked the president what accomplishment he was most proud of, and Biden said he thinks the administration’s approach to the economy is “working.”
“Today, we have the strongest economy in the world,” Biden said, adding, “We strive to provide equal opportunity to ordinary people as well.”
Trump campaigned in Detroit on Saturday and criticized Biden for his handling of the economy and inflation. Trump campaign spokeswoman Caroline Levitt said the president was “raising money in cahoots with untouchable elite Hollywood celebrities.”
But Biden told the crowd in California that “we passed every major piece of legislation that we set out to accomplish.” And Obama expressed praise for the sweeping legislation on health care, public works, the environment, technology manufacturing, gun safety and other major initiatives that his former vice president’s administration has overseen.
“What we’re seeing now is a reversal of 2016. There were a lot of people who, for one reason or another, stayed away from voting,” said Obama, who, like Biden, wore a dark suit and an open-collared white shirt.
Speaking about the Supreme Court, Obama said, “Hopefully we’ve learned our lesson, because these elections matter in a very concrete way.”
Trump nominated three judges who helped overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision guaranteeing the constitutional right to abortion. The audience expressed their displeasure at the mention of Roe, to which Obama responded, “Don’t do violence, vote.” This was based on his common slogan of prioritizing voting over booing.
Biden said the person elected president in November could have the chance to nominate two new justices, though Biden’s second term would likely not bring sweeping changes to the court, which currently has a 6-3 conservative majority.
He also suggested that if Trump reclaims the White House, “one of the scariest parts” would be the Supreme Court, and that the high court “has never been so far behind like this.”
Biden also cited reports that an upside-down flag, a symbol associated with Trump’s false claims of election fraud, was flown outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in January 2021. He raised concerns Saturday that, if Trump is re-elected, “he’s going to appoint two more people who will fly their flag upside down.”
Kimmel brought his trademark humor to the show. At one point, he asked how a president could get revenge on a talk-show host who mocks him on TV every night.
“Have you ever heard of Delta Force?” Biden responded, referring to the military’s special operations unit.
Earlier in the program, Kimmel referred to Biden’s campaign promise to revive the soul of America and said “lately it feels like we need an exorcism.” He then asked Biden, “Is that why you went to see the pope?” Biden and Pope Francis met in Italy on Friday.
Biden’s campaign said the count was still ongoing, but Saturday night’s gathering raised at least $28 million, more than any event for any Democratic candidate in history.
That meant surpassing the president’s fundraiser at New York’s Radio City Music Hall in March, which raised $26 million and featured late-night show host Stephen Colbert interviewing Biden, Obama and former President Bill Clinton.
Biden had an early lead in the campaign money race against Trump, but the former president has lost the lead since formally securing the Republican nomination.
Trump outpaced Biden’s New York event by raising $50.5 million at a gathering of major donors at the Florida home of billionaire investor John Paulson in April. The former president’s campaign and the Republican National Committee announced they raised a whopping $141 million in May, including hundreds of millions of dollars in donations received after Trump was convicted in his criminal hush money trial.
The post-conviction surge comes after Trump and the Republican Party announced they raised $76 million in April, far more than the $51 million collected by Biden and the Democrats for the month.
Weisert reported from Washington.
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