{"id":2208834,"date":"2024-03-29T00:00:02","date_gmt":"2024-03-29T04:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/obama-and-clinton-try-to-avoid-taking-spotlight-away-from-biden-at-star-studded-fundraiser\/"},"modified":"2024-03-29T00:01:39","modified_gmt":"2024-03-29T04:01:39","slug":"obama-and-clinton-try-to-avoid-taking-spotlight-away-from-biden-at-star-studded-fundraiser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/obama-and-clinton-try-to-avoid-taking-spotlight-away-from-biden-at-star-studded-fundraiser\/","title":{"rendered":"Obama and Clinton aim to support Biden without overshadowing him at a celebrity-filled fundraising event"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fobama-and-clinton-try-to-avoid-taking-spotlight-away-from-biden-at-star-studded-fundraiser%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2208834&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Former Presidents Obama and Clinton showed strong support for President Biden at a fundraiser \u2064in NYC, emphasizing \u2063Biden&#8217;s\u2064 leadership and accomplishments over their own. They\u200c highlighted Biden&#8217;s stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict and his care for Palestinians. The event aimed to boost \u2064Biden&#8217;s campaign amid \u200dchallenges and bridge divides within the Democratic Party. Protesters and moments of levity also marked the event.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong>NEW YORK CITY \u2014\u00a0<\/strong>Former Presidents <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/barack-obama\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Barack Obama<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/bill-clinton\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Bill Clinton<\/a> increased the wattage of the spotlight shone on President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Joe Biden<\/a> Thursday during a high-dollar, high-stakes fundraiser at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.<\/p>\n<p>But Biden\u2019s predecessors appeared to remember their responsibility as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democrats\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Democrats<\/a> to the party and underscored the incumbent\u2019s record, as opposed to their own, before what is expected to be a close <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2024-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>general election<\/a> against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>former President Donald Trump<\/a> this November.<\/p>\n<p>Obama and Clinton delivered an ardent defense of Biden\u2019s response to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/israel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Israel<\/a>\u2013<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/hamas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Hamas<\/a> war as the current president insists the United States needs to provide more food and supplies to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/palestinian\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Palestinians<\/a> in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/gaza\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Gaza<\/a>, but that the country must not forget Israel experienced a massacre.<\/p>\n<p>Obama described Biden as having \u201cmoral clarity\u201d and a willingness to listen to all sides of the debate in order to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/md-gov-hogan-urges-biden-lawmakers-to-work-together-on-covid-19-relief-legislation\/\" title=\"Md. Gov. Hogan urges Biden, lawmakers to work together on COVID-19 relief legislation\">find common ground<\/a>. Clinton added that Biden\u2019s care for Palestinians and acknowledgement of their right to self-determination is why Democrats should vote for him in November.<\/p>\n<p>The defense suggested the deep rift among Democrats that Biden is attempting to bridge on the war as he runs for a second term in the White House. He easily secured the delegates needed to be the party\u2019s standard-bearer once again but faced protest votes in several pivotal primary states.<\/p>\n<p>However, the event also included moments of levity. \u201cBy the way, Dark Brandon is real,\u201d Biden said, alluding to a pro-Biden meme, as all three presidents put on his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-europe-trip-a-bumbling-stumbling-blundering-and-embarrassing-debacle\/\" title=\"Biden\u2019s Europe Trip A Bumbling, Stumbling, Blundering \u2014 And Embarrassing \u2014 Debacle\">trademark aviator sunglasses<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Biden holds a considerable cash advantage over Trump before November, with Thursday\u2019s fundraiser raising more than $26 million, but there are reasons beyond bringing in more dollars for his campaign to organize the event. Namely, attempting to counter an apparent enthusiasm gap within the president\u2019s own Democratic Party regarding his reelection bid.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the end of the day, what you want, not just out of your president but out of your government, is people whose values are rooted in wanting to make sure everybody gets a shot. That is willing to fight on behalf of people who weren\u2019t born into privilege. And that\u2019s who Joe Biden is,\u201d Obama said at the fundraiser. \u201cAt the end of the day, you do have to make a choice, and the question then becomes: Who is it that really sees you and cares about you? I can \u2014 I\u2019m pretty confident the other guy doesn\u2019t. This guy does.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The event presented a risk for Biden that he would be overshadowed by two popular former presidents as he tries to navigate among the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/an-ominous-double-whammy-new-polling-spells-trouble-for-democrats-in-midterms\/\" title=\"\u2018An Ominous Double Whammy\u2019: New Polling Spells Trouble For Democrats In Midterms\">lowest approval ratings<\/a> of an incumbent at this time in his presidency.<\/p>\n<p>But the Biden campaign is hoping the public display of unity with Obama and Clinton will remind voters what is at stake this November in the rematch with Trump, indirectly addressing concerns about Biden\u2019s age, stewardship of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/economy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>economy<\/a>, and approach to the wars in both Gaza and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ukraine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Ukraine<\/a>. The former president was not mentioned by name at the event.<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<p>Leon Panetta, an Obama and Clinton administration alumnus, reiterated that Biden had nothing to lose and everything to gain by sharing the stage with his predecessors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat picture is worth a hell of a lot in politics today,\u201d Panetta said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>Biden has been hemorrhaging support from black, Latino, and young voters, all critical legs of his winning 2020 coalition, since his inauguration. The president still leads Trump among those demographics, but even a slight decrease in his vote share could cost him battleground states such as Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<p>Simultaneously, hundreds of protesters, many of them pro-Palestinian demonstrators, descended on Radio City Music Hall Thursday with signs that read \u201cDay 174 of U.S. funded genocide\u201d and \u201cIsrael bombs=U.S.A. pays.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div>\n<blockquote data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A packed Midtown Manhattan this evening as pro-Palestinian protestors gather near Radio City Music Hall where President Biden and former Presidents Obama and Clinton will speak tonight. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/snUMlRILn5\">pic.twitter.com\/snUMlRILn5<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Andy Weir (@AndyWeirNBC) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AndyWeirNBC\/status\/1773473713402351766?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 28, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Protesters even interrupted the fundraiser, with one shouting, \u201cYou\u2019re out of your f***ing minds,\u201d while being removed from the premises.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can\u2019t just talk and not listen,\u201d Obama replied. \u201cThat\u2019s what the other side does.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<p>Nevertheless, Biden campaign officials told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that they believed Thursday\u2019s fundraiser, in particular, would draw a sharp contrast with the fraught relationship between the Republican Party and Trump, who has spent the past eight years remaking the GOP in his own image and appealing to donors to help him pay the legal fees and penalties stemming from more than 90 federal indictments.<\/p>\n<p>The fundraiser, which brought in a crowd of more than 5,000 supporters, also featured people familiar with a spotlight not cast by politics. Actress Mindy Kaling hosted the event, comedian Stephen Colbert moderated a conversation between the trio of presidents, and musicians Lizzo, Queen Latifah, Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo, and Lea Michele performed for their guests.<\/p>\n<p>Kaling opened the program with a quip that it was nice to be in a room with \u201cso many rich people\u201d and that, compared to Biden, Obama, and Clinton, she looked like a \u201ccast member on <em>Euphoria<\/em>,\u201d an HBO TV series about teenagers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe reason we are here is to reelect President Joe Biden,\u201d Kaling said, adding that she was backing Biden for her two children.<\/p>\n<p>The general public was permitted into Thursday\u2019s fundraiser, with ticket prices starting at $250, though attendees paid up to $500,000 for VIP access to one of the event\u2019s sideline receptions and after-party. People could also hand over $100,000 for a photo with the presidents taken by photographer Annie Leibovitz.<\/p>\n<p>Despite Democratic anxiety related to Biden\u2019s campaign, the president has had no problem fundraising since announcing his 2024 bid in the spring of 2023. The Biden campaign announced this month that it had raised more than $50 million in February and closed the month with more than $150 million cash on hand, a roughly $100 million edge over Trump.<\/p>\n<p>Trump himself was also in New York on Thursday for the Long Island wake of Jonathan Diller, a New York City police officer who was shot and killed during a recent, routine traffic stop in Queens.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe police are the greatest people we have. There\u2019s nothing and there\u2019s nobody like them. And this should never happen,\u201d Trump said after the wake, trying to tie Diller\u2019s death to Biden. \u201cWe have to get back to law and order. We have to do a lot of things differently. This is not working. This is happening too often.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Earlier in the day, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/white-house\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>White House<\/a> press secretary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/karine-jean-pierre\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Karine Jean-Pierre<\/a> sought to blame the Trump administration a spike in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>national crime<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cViolent crime surged under the previous administration,\u201d she <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-keeps-changing-excuse-for-why-biden-fell-on-air-force-one-stairs\/\" title=\"White House Keeps Changing Excuse For Why Biden Fell On Air Force One Stairs\">told reporters traveling<\/a> with Biden to New York City. \u201cThe Biden-Harris administration have done the polar opposite, taking decisive action from the very beginning to fund the police and achieving a historic reduction in crime.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In New York City, former Presidents Obama and Clinton amplified the focus on President Biden at a crucial fundraiser at Radio City Music Hall. While raising significant funds, they maintained respect for the Democratic party by highlighting Biden&#8217;s achievements as the current leader<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3007,"featured_media":2208835,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/AP24089048657034-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2208834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/AP24089048657034-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2208834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3007"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2208834"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2208834\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2208835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2208834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2208834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2208834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}