Biden and his allies have sought to use their large financial advantage over Trump to project campaign enthusiasm ahead of the November election, even as Trump’s fundraising has shown signs of increasing in recent weeks.
The Biden campaign called Saturday night’s event the largest fundraiser in Democratic history, a statement it made after an event in New York that was attended by three presidents.
“This Saturday, we expect to see an unprecedented, record-breaking turnout from the media and entertainment world,” Biden campaign co-chair Jeffrey Katzenberg said in a statement. “The enthusiasm and commitment to Biden/Harris couldn’t be stronger. We all understand this is the most important election of our lifetimes.”
Biden and Trump have struggled for months to shift the balance of power in a showdown that polls show most voters don’t want, and even Trump’s recent historic conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide hush payments to adult film actresses has done little to change the race.
Trump has been trying to close the funding gap with Biden, but much of his fundraising has been used to pay legal costs related to several pending lawsuits against him.
Kimmel will moderate the Hollywood event, which will feature a debate between President Obama and President Biden. Kimmel, whose son has a congenital heart disease, has been critical of Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare, President Barack Obama’s signature domestic policy, because the bill would take away health insurance guarantees for people with pre-existing conditions, like his son.
A few weeks before the fundraiser, Clooney called a senior White House adviser to complain about the president’s criticism of the International Criminal Court’s actions against Israeli leaders. The case was handled by Clooney’s wife, Amal. Clooney expressed concern about Biden’s condemnation of the International Criminal Court’s request for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant, particularly his use of the word “outrageous.” International Criminal Court prosecutors have also requested arrest warrants against top Hamas leaders.
The actor was particularly upset that the administration initially supported ICC sanctions because it would have exposed his wife to possible punishment – though the White House later backed away from the idea of ​​ICC sanctions.
The Biden campaign said funds raised from Saturday’s event will go toward opening offices around the country, hiring organizers and launching an advertising campaign targeting key voters.
Saturday’s event will cap a busy trip for the president, who flew directly to Los Angeles on Saturday from Italy to attend the Group of Seven summit. Biden visited France last week to mark the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings.
Biden has also been traveling back and forth to Wilmington, Delaware, in recent days to support his son, Hunter, who was convicted earlier this week of making false statements on a federal firearms application and three counts of unlawfully possessing a firearm over an 11-day period.
