“We are not just a candidate who, frankly, is increasingly out of touch with the essence of America,” President Obama said at an event at Radio City Music Hall that featured celebrity performers including Mindy Kaling. “We have a party and a whole infrastructure that looks like it is.” , Ben Platt and Lizzo.
Clinton mocked Trump for taking credit for the Democratic Party's accomplishments. “I heard him talk about how bad the U.S. economy was in 2016,” Clinton said. “And by January 2017, after his inauguration, it miraculously became great overnight.”
Biden indirectly responded to concerns about his age by comparing himself to Trump. “This man denies the existence of global warming,” he said. “This man not only wants to be eliminated; Roe vs. WadeHe wants to eliminate the right to have the right to choose anywhere in America. Everything he does is very old. It's a little old and out of shape. ”
The fundraiser, which the Biden campaign claims has broken records for political events, caps a series of ramp-up efforts for the president and paints a picture of a presidential race scenario in which Biden faces uncertainty about the Democratic presidential nomination. It represents the latest effort by allies to repeat the move. Age and declining support rate.
The Biden campaign has taken a harsher tone in mocking Trump in recent weeks, aiming to portray him as a weak and struggling candidate in the race. On Thursday, Mr. Biden, 81, said he would be “happy to challenge” Mr. Trump, 77, to a game of golf.
“I said this before when I was on the presidential campaign trail before I took office,” Biden said. “I said, 'If you take my bag, I'll give you three strikes,'” Biden said, drawing laughter.
The crowd of Democratic donors who paid between $225 and $500,000 to attend and in some cases took photos with the president was mostly friendly, but the event was repeatedly interrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters. It was done. A crowd of demonstrators outside chanted “Genocide Joe!” And they criticized Biden's handling of the war in Gaza, leading some to clash with police.
All three mentioned the war and reflected on the difficulty of trying to resolve difficult issues such as peace in the Middle East as president. Biden said there were “too many innocent victims, both Israelis and Palestinians,” in the conflict.
President Obama said Mr. Biden faces a heartbreaking crisis that is more complex than many acknowledge. “I think people often understandably want to feel some certainty about how these decisions will be made,” Obama said. “But the president doesn't have that luxury.”
As the protesters continued to shout, President Obama retorted: You can't just talk and not listen. …That's what they're doing. And while we can have moral clarity and understand that it is possible to have deeply held beliefs, the world is still complex and these problems are difficult to solve. I am aware of this. ”
During the rest of the conversation, moderated by comedian and late night host Stephen Colbert, the three presidents repeatedly answered questions by taking shots at Trump. Clinton accused Trump of trying to sink a bipartisan immigration deal, saying he was “good at branding and blaming” but not solving the problem.
President Obama said that during President Trump's four years in office, America's fundamental ideals were “not only devalued, they were violated.” Biden attacked his predecessor for his response to the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, saying “we didn't have a president” that day.
While the trio and Colbert spent a significant amount of time focused on Trump, Obama occasionally emphasized the importance of using Trump's comments to make a positive case for Biden.
“I think it's worth adding, it's not just a negative case against the other side's presumptive nominee,'' Obama said after Biden answered first, speaking primarily about Trump. “This is a positive case for someone who has done a great job.”
President Obama has previously expressed concern about the state of Biden's re-election campaign. At a private lunch with Biden last year, Obama urged Biden to strengthen his campaign structure and act more aggressively to thwart Trump's plans to march to the White House.
President Trump also visited New York on Thursday to attend the wake of Jonathan Diller, a New York City police officer who was killed in the line of duty on Monday.
President Trump, who has often blamed Biden for instances of violent crime, told reporters outside the vigil: “We have to get back to law and order.” “Many things need to be done differently because this doesn't work. Things like this happen far too often.”
Colbert used the occasion of Thursday's event to grill Trump on multiple criminal charges against him. “This is a particularly exciting and unusual opportunity,” Colbert said. “All three presidents have come to New York. And none of them have come here to appear in court.”
Mr. Biden has widened a significant fundraising advantage over his predecessor, but Mr. Trump and his aides are aiming to close the gap. He plans to hold a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago next week hosted by several billionaires, and one of his advisers said the event could raise $33 million.
Mr. Biden is scheduled to meet with campaign executives in New York on Friday during a campaign finance training camp, where his team is expected to provide a comprehensive briefing on the state of the presidential race, according to campaign aides who spoke on condition of anonymity. It is said that To discuss internal strategy.
The event included a briefing on the latest polling, a discussion of potential paths to victory and an overview of how the campaign is spending resources in battleground states.
Josh Dawsey, Jeff Stein, Michael Scherer and Elizabeth Dwoskin contributed to this report.
