By Chris Megerian and Colleen Long
President Joe Biden, (second from left), with former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton at a fundraising event with Stephen Colbert at Radio City Music Hall, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in New York. (Photo provided by David Kim)
NEW YORK (AP) — Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and some big names from the entertainment world teamed up Thursday night to deliver a rousing New York embrace of President Joe Biden that hauled in a record-setting $26 million-plus for his reelection campaign.
The mood at Radio City Music Hall was electric as Obama praised Biden’s willingness to look for common ground and said, “That’s the kind of president I want.” Clinton said simply of the choices facing voters in 2024: “Stay with what works.”
Biden himself went straight at Donald Trump, saying his expected GOP rival’s ideas were “a little old and out of shape.”
The sold-out Radio City Music Hall event was a gilded exclamation mark on a recent burst of campaign travel by Biden, who has visited several political battlegrounds in the three weeks since his State of the Union address served as a rallying cry for his reelection bid. Thursday’s event also brought together more than three decades of Democratic leadership.
Shasti Conrad, chair of the Washington State Democrats
with David Kim, Washington Democratic Party treasurer (Photo provided by David Kim)
Also in attendance representing Washington state were Shasti Conrad, chair of the Washington State Democrats and David Kim, the Washington Democratic Party treasurer.
The fundraiser had different tiers of access depending on a donor’s generosity. Tickets sold for as low as $225.
More money got donors more intimate time with the presidents. A photo with all three was $100,000. A donation of $250,000 earned donors access to one reception, and $500,000 got them into an even more exclusive gathering. First lady Jill Biden and DJ D-Nice hosted an afterparty at the music hall with 500 guests, the campaign said.