(None of the shoe rules applied to Biden, who kept his on and did not wear the disposable coverings.)Īt Biden fundraisers, celebrities such as the actor Robert De Niro (in New York) or filmmaker Ken Burns (in Boston) make the occasional cameo, although neither stayed long enough to hear the president speak.
A small group of reporters in attendance were asked to place “booties” over their shoes to protect their hardwood floors and light-colored carpets. Attendees checked their shoes – expensive Jimmy Choo mules and Saint Laurent pumps among them - at the door and listened to Biden while in socks or slippers provided by the couple. Indeed, the residence is a “piece of heaven” for the Laufers, who appeared fastidious about keeping their place spotless. Is that your daddy? He owes you big for having to sit here.”Īt a June fundraiser in Beverly Hills, California, at the home of billionaire media mogul Haim Saban, the president mused to Saban’s wife, Cheryl, that both men had “married way above our station.” And standing in the 65th-floor apartment of Henry and Marsha Laufer overlooking New York’s Central Park, Biden gushed over the “magnificent” view, noting: “I don’t know if there’s a better view in New York than here.” “Honey, what’s your name?” Biden asked a little girl, sitting through what he joked had to be the most “boring” event. For instance, at a late August fundraiser in the Washington suburbs, Biden first spent some time giving a child near the front of the gathering a bit of attention and then the president gave his remarks for several dozen big-dollar DNC supporters. A pair of fundraisers at mansions in Southern California during the Summit of the Americas in June raked in $5 million in a matter of hours.Ī famously chummy politician, Biden makes sure at any big-dollar event that his hosts are made to feel special and recognized. The events have ranged from a $300,000 haul at a yacht club in Portland, Oregon, to a cozy, 18-person affair (with four others on video screens) at Hotel Washington near the White House that took in more than $3 million. So far this year, Biden has headlined 11 receptions to raise cash directly for the Democratic National Committee, and they have brought in more than $19.6 million, according to the committee. “He gets all kinds of questions, he answers them honestly, he probably gives his staff heart attacks.” He’s real, he’s down to earth, if he knows the people in the room … he’s even more relaxed,” said Rep. The fundraisers - held in lavish Manhattan apartments, drab conference centers and backyard tents glammed up with chandeliers - have been one of the most visible ways Biden has been deployed this election year at a time when his approval ratings remain underwater and many Democrats aren’t eager to stand by him on the campaign trail. At these events, celebrities are spotted and alcohol is consumed, while Biden gets the one-on-one interactions he had missed for much of his campaign and presidency due to COVID-19. It’s one glimpse of Biden as fundraiser in chief - a man who schmoozes with aplomb while raking in millions at receptions that will be a fixture of his political schedule during the final stretch before Election Day, Nov.
The crowd of a few dozen, as they always do, chuckled as the president continued with the rest of his remarks. “If that’s Trump calling me again, tell him I’m busy,” Biden said at an event this past week for the Democratic Governors Association, repeating a variation of the quip he also relayed during receptions in Illinois and New York earlier this year.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Whenever a donor’s unsilenced cellphone goes off at a fundraiser while President Joe Biden is talking, he has the same joke ready to go: It’s Donald Trump on the other line.
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