AGL 40.05 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.1%)
AIRLINK 190.98 Increased By ▲ 3.00 (1.6%)
BOP 10.25 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (1.28%)
CNERGY 7.22 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (1.55%)
DCL 10.27 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (1.18%)
DFML 42.04 Increased By ▲ 0.47 (1.13%)
DGKC 108.39 Increased By ▲ 0.48 (0.44%)
FCCL 38.49 Decreased By ▼ -0.51 (-1.31%)
FFBL 90.22 Increased By ▲ 8.20 (10%)
FFL 14.93 Increased By ▲ 0.03 (0.2%)
HUBC 123.00 Increased By ▲ 3.54 (2.96%)
HUMNL 14.31 Increased By ▲ 0.26 (1.85%)
KEL 6.30 Decreased By ▼ -0.10 (-1.56%)
KOSM 8.36 Increased By ▲ 0.29 (3.59%)
MLCF 48.99 Decreased By ▼ -0.48 (-0.97%)
NBP 74.25 Increased By ▲ 0.59 (0.8%)
OGDC 212.00 Increased By ▲ 7.15 (3.49%)
PAEL 32.90 Decreased By ▼ -0.66 (-1.97%)
PIBTL 9.07 Increased By ▲ 1.00 (12.39%)
PPL 201.04 Increased By ▲ 15.63 (8.43%)
PRL 34.52 Increased By ▲ 0.91 (2.71%)
PTC 27.40 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.04%)
SEARL 117.70 Decreased By ▼ -2.12 (-1.77%)
TELE 9.80 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (1.14%)
TOMCL 35.30 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
TPLP 12.50 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (2.04%)
TREET 22.29 Increased By ▲ 2.03 (10.02%)
TRG 61.00 Increased By ▲ 0.22 (0.36%)
UNITY 36.70 Decreased By ▼ -1.29 (-3.4%)
WTL 1.79 Increased By ▲ 0.14 (8.48%)
BR100 12,159 Increased By 386.9 (3.29%)
BR30 37,770 Increased By 1185.5 (3.24%)
KSE100 114,181 Increased By 3370.3 (3.04%)
KSE30 35,701 Increased By 1272.1 (3.69%)
World

Obama, Bill Clinton to join Biden to raise $25 million at event with Queen Latifah and Lizzo

Published March 28, 2024
US President Barack Obama (L), Vice President Joe Biden (C) and former president Bill Clinton chat before the start of a memorial service for US Senator Robert Byrd on July 2, 2010 at the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston, West Virginia. Photo: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
US President Barack Obama (L), Vice President Joe Biden (C) and former president Bill Clinton chat before the start of a memorial service for US Senator Robert Byrd on July 2, 2010 at the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston, West Virginia. Photo: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden will get a boost from Democratic predecessors Barack Obama and Bill Clinton on Thursday at a fundraiser in New York slated to raise more than $25 million and add some oomph to Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign.

Biden and the two former commanders-in-chief will take part in a discussion moderated by ‘The Late Show’ host Stephen Colbert at Radio City Music Hall in front of thousands of guests at what Biden’s re-election campaign said would be the most successful political fundraiser in history.

Musicians Queen Latifah, Lizzo, Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo and Lea Michele are slated to perform, and some high-paying attendees will get their pictures with the three presidents taken by star photographer Annie Leibovitz.

Biden, 81, has faced concerns about his age and fitness for a second four-year term. Recent Reuters/Ipsos polls show his approval rating at 40% and a tight race with Republican challenger Donald Trump, who is 77, ahead of the election on Nov. 5.

Biden’s conundrum: clock is ticking, Mr President

Tickets for Thursday’s event are between $250 and $500,000, according to a Democrat familiar with the event. More than 5,000 people were expected to attend. The event will not be televised, but the campaign plans to post content from it on social media. Small-dollar donors can pay $25 to take part in a virtual event with the three men.

Biden has visited all of the top battleground states since a fiery State of the Union address earlier this month, but mostly has spoken to much smaller crowds, part of a deliberate strategy to emphasize interactions with ordinary Americans. Vice President Kamala Harris has crisscrossed the country as well.

The show of support from Obama, who is still enormously popular with Democrats, could bolster enthusiasm from some young voters and other progressives who voted for Biden in 2020 but are furious about his staunch backing of Israel in its response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.

Biden and Obama: a complicated bromance

“The numbers don’t lie: today’s event is a massive show of force and a true reflection of the momentum to reelect the Biden-Harris ticket,” campaign co-chair Jeffrey Katzenberg said in a statement.

Biden’s re-election effort raised more than $53 million in February and $10 million in the 24 hours following his March 7 address to Congress. Biden has been routinely outraising Trump.

Obama has voiced concerns to Biden that Trump could win, ahead of a shakeup of Biden’s team that sent two top White House aides to the Wilmington, Delaware-based campaign.

The former president spent time at the White House recently putting together a video highlighting the anniversary of his signature Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Biden is campaigning hard on his efforts to strengthen the law and accuses Republicans of seeking to end it.

Trump used Biden’s event with Obama and Clinton to appeal to his own supporters as well. “The Obama-Clinton cartel thinks they will beat us tomorrow, but I have something they’ll NEVER have,” he said in a fundraising appeal on Wednesday, referring to his supporters.

Comments

Comments are closed.