The Joe Biden re-election campaign is organizing a unique fundraiser to unite Biden with former Democratic presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama sometime this spring. The objective is to infuse energy into lackluster enthusiasm numbers and bolster the campaign’s financial resources.
“There is a real focus and urgency around making sure we beat Trump,” stated a Biden adviser, as reported by NBC, which initially disclosed the fundraiser plans.
This development occurs as the Biden campaign has intensified in recent weeks, with Donald Trump nearing a secure position for the GOP nomination. In the current week alone, Biden highlighted his infrastructure spending in Wisconsin, secured the endorsement of the United Auto Workers union in Washington, D.C., and traveled to South Carolina to appeal to Black voters.
Concurrently, around the timeframe of the fundraiser, scheduled for March or April, the campaign is gearing up to launch a multi-million dollar ad campaign, as per NBC.
“It’s all hands on deck now,” emphasized Quentin Fulks, Biden’s deputy campaign manager, in a statement to ABC last week. “We are full steam ahead heading into the general election.” Biden officials shared with NBC that the president intends to hit the campaign trail at least twice a week, coinciding with an expansion of re-election operations in battleground states.
Joe Biden (Credits: NBC News)
The early initiation of campaigning necessitates fundraising, hence the fundraiser. Nevertheless, the campaign remains in a better-than-expected financial position, having announced a record $97 million fundraising haul for the last quarter of 2023 earlier this month—the highest ever amassed by a Democrat at this stage leading up to the election.
The fundraiser plans underscore the Biden campaign’s comprehensive approach to the election, aiming to leverage the political capital and relatively higher favorability of Biden’s two Democratic predecessors.
Notably, Obama has been closely engaged with Biden over the President’s 2024 plans, with a late 2023 lunch conversation reported by The Washington Post revealing Obama’s encouragement for Biden to seek advice from former Obama campaign aides.
The nation’s first Black president has also utilized his political influence to raise funds for the Biden campaign, contributing to $4 million in small-dollar giving, much of it generated through a “Meet the Presidents” contest offering donors the opportunity to meet both Obama and Biden.
While Bill Clinton has been less involved in 2024 efforts, his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has emerged as a prominent Biden surrogate and is expected to play a significant public role in the campaign this year.
The strategic move is not without political risk, considering that both Clintons and Obama are not universally viewed favorably by the moderate Republicans crucial for Biden’s success in November, nor are they beloved by the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.
“Everyone is all in,” affirmed the Biden adviser to NBC regarding the fundraiser. “And this kind of early-on event is just the latest demonstration of that.”
