Stars of the caliber of George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Barbra Streisand, Jimmy Kimmel. Moguls from the world of cinema like Jeffrey Katzenberg. And even a former president, Barack Obama. Hollywood rushed out this weekend to support the re-election of US President Joe Biden, at a meeting with voters in Los Angeles that has broken the Democratic campaign’s fundraising records — more than 28 million in a single night — and launches a new challenge to his rival, Republican Donald Trump, on a key front in his fight for the White House: that of donations.
Eight days before the two candidates face each other in their long-awaited first debate in Atlanta on the 24th, the big electoral event before the conventions of the two parties, the two campaigns want to arrive with momentum (“momentum”), a word that in American electoral jargon refers to the perception among the public that a given candidate has the upper hand. And a way to generate momentum is boasting about their fundraising data among donors. Another, making clear the celebrity of their supports.
The Los Angeles event killed those two birds with one stone. It broke the previous record for Democratic fundraising in a single day, so far of $25 million, achieved in a similar event, a donor meeting and talk in New York with the last three Democratic presidents: Biden, Obama and Bill Clinton. And he surrounded Biden with Hollywood glamour, in a casual atmosphere that allowed him to launch more than one dig at his electoral opponent. For the American president it was such a fundamental event that in order to arrive on time he left the G-7 summit in Italy before the meeting of international leaders concluded.
In the talk with Biden and Obama, Kimmel asked if the American electorate suffers from “Trump amnesia,” which he described as “something like a colonoscopy,” which people know exists but try to forget. “Remember the pandemic, he said to just inject ourselves with some bleach,” the American president noted. “It worked for me,” the presenter and comedian joked. “It did work for him. “He dyed her hair,” Biden added.
Much more seriously, Biden painted a bleak picture of the consequences of a new term for his predecessor in the White House. “The next president will probably have to name two candidates to the Supreme Court… if (Trump) is re-elected, he will appoint two more upside-down flags,” he declared, alluding to one of the current judges, Samuel Alito, in whose homes waved two flags related to the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. “There has never been a court so far from reality.”
“Institutions matter. What he (Trump) did on January 6, and now he literally says if he doesn’t win there will be a bloodbath. It is scandalous, the things he says are scandalous,” the Democratic candidate reiterated.
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For his part, Obama pointed out that “we have normalized behaviors that previously disqualified their authors…we have the spectacle of the candidate of one of the two major parties sitting in the dock and found guilty by a jury on 34 counts. He is not allowed to operate his foundation because it was involved in unclear business dealings. “His organization has been taken to court for not paying taxes.”
Other celebrities also participated in the event at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, such as actors Jason Bateman and Jack Black, and singer Sheryl Lee Ralph. As they passed through the stage, the stars also shared the taunts and criticisms towards the Republican candidate.
In a statement prior to the event, the Democratic Party had boasted that the fundraising event was going to be “the most successful in the history” of the party. “It has already raised more than $28 million and continues to rise,” noted the text, which described the meeting as “a demonstration of strength with leaders in the entertainment sector who send a clear signal: they are united and enthusiastic about re-election.” of President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.”
The new fundraising record is especially important data for Biden, whom most polls place behind his rival but who since before the start of the campaign has enjoyed a more than considerable advantage over Trump when it comes to the donations received and the funds available.
In the first quarter of the year, Biden and Democrats received $187 million in donations, according to data from the Federal Election Commission. According to the Democratic Party, this is the largest amount ever raised for a party candidate. In April it had a hundred million more dollars in its bank accounts than the rival campaign.
But in recent weeks Trump has been closing the gap. After being found guilty last month of cooking accounting books to hide a payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels, his campaign earned $141 million in May. Although much of that money is used to pay the candidate’s legal expenses.
Although it served to fill the flow of the Democratic campaign, the Los Angeles event also highlighted the important internal divisions within the party. The arrival at the event had been altered—as is common in almost every event that Biden attends—by the protests of pro-Palestinian protesters who demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and reproach the president for his pro-Israeli stance in the war.
The differences in position were also found within the Peacock theater: George Clooney had complained weeks ago to the White House about the president’s criticism of the International Criminal Court’s request for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. , and his Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant—as well as against Hamas leaders—as suspects of war crimes. The actor’s wife, human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, participated in this court initiative and would have been affected if, as the White House initially proposed, Washington had imposed sanctions against that UN court.
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