LOS ANGELES — If you’re a Democrat with money to burn and friends in high places, you can spend thousands on tickets to a fundraiser with President Joe Biden. If not, keep reading to see what you’re missing.
With an election year around the corner, Biden is accelerating his fundraising to prepare for an astronomically expensive campaign. (Think billions, not millions.) In this rarefied world, money equals access, and supporters regularly pay top dollar for a personal glimpse of the world’s most powerful man.
Biden is collecting cash across the Los Angeles area this weekend, and his first stop was a sprawling estate where the host joked “it’s just a normal Friday at our house” as hundreds of donors sipped wine in the backyard.
“You’re the reason why we’re gonna win, God willing, in 2024,” Biden told the audience.
Each fundraiser is a little different, but there’s a similar script. A look at what it’s like inside the presidential money hunt.
Fundraisers are a rare glimpse at the lives of the country’s wealthiest and most influential. Biden’s motorcade has rolled up to a mountain villa in Park City, Utah, a townhouse in New York City and a sprawling estate at the top of Hollywood Hills.
In a Manhattan apartment with floor-to-ceiling views of Central Park, reporters were required to slip disposable covers over their shoes before they could enter the living room where donors nibbled on crustless tea sandwiches.
At Friday’s fundraiser in Los Angeles, attendees wore colored wrist bands that indicated where they should sit. Ushers held up red, green, blue and orange signs to direct them to the right place.
The press corps can enter fundraisers only to hear Biden’s formal remarks; no cameras are allowed. When Biden is mingling with supporters or answering their questions, reporters are sequestered in a garage, home gym or spare bedroom. Sometimes they are kept outside on the sidewalk.
The lucky host often gets the privilege of introducing the president. Usually, these remarks are predictably laudatory, but sometimes they get spicy.
Randi McGinn, a prominent New Mexico lawyer, joked about the attractiveness of the president’s Secret Service detail and referenced Donald Trump’s dalliance with a porn star.
Biden smiled — or grimaced, it was hard to tell — and made the sign of the cross as she spoke.
The president always thanks his hosts and any elected officials present. If he spots any children, Biden often jokingly warns them “this is going to be boring, boring, boring for you.”
Although fundraisers are often run-of-the-mill occasions, careful reporters know to stay attentive. Biden has a history of being more candid than usual when surrounded by deep-pocketed supporters.
During a June fundraiser in California, Biden upset China by describing President Xi Jinping as a “dictator.” Biden also said Xi was unaware that a Chinese balloon that floated over the United States was being used for spying.