Joe Biden addressed a star-studded crowd at a Los Angeles fundraiser on Saturday night, imploring voters to “elect me” because Donald Trump will “appoint two more judges who fly flags upside down,” referring to Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s recent flag flap.
Biden hosted the event — which raised a record $28 million, according to Biden’s camp — promising that, if reelected, he would protect IVF and contraception, issues the right-skewing Court might next be targeting. “Not on my watch,” he said firmly, to thunderous applause.
After intros from George Clooney and Julia Roberts, the president took the stage alongside former-Commander-in-Chief Barack Obama at L.A.’s Peacock Theater.
Jimmy Kimmel moderated the discussion while getting in a few of his favorite Trump nicknames, including “Orange Julius Caesar” and “Nostra-Dumbass.” He also quipped that Biden recently met with the Pope because he’s “fighting for the soul of America” and maybe the country “needs an exorcism.”
Kimmel kicked off the talk with a video package in which all of Trump’s 2020 campaign claims — job creation, boosting the economy and even upping marriage stats — were intercut with Biden delivering on those same issues. There was also footage of Trump saying that there’d be no Easter, Thanksgiving or 4th of July with Biden in office, sentiments followed by Biden wishing Americans a happy holiday on each occasion.
Biden was also ready with quips, such as, “I could have done nothing and done better than him,” referring to Trump. Biden added, “He is the only president other than Hoover who lost more jobs than he started off with.”
The president touted his accomplishments, including lowering insulin prices for seniors and erasing student debt for millions. “That didn’t cost the economy, it grew the economy,” he said of the debt relief, a statement that was met with tremendous applause.
Biden stated that Trump wants to “reverse the progress we made” in healthcare, clean energy and other areas.
Obama also knocked Republicans for rejecting the recent bipartisan border solution. “The nominee of the other party decided to tank it because he wanted it as an issue in the next election rather than actually solve it,” he said.
When the audience began booing, Obama repeated a previous campaign staple, “Don’t boo. Vote!”
When Kimmel said that that biggest reason people came out for the event is because they’re scared of a second Trump term, Biden shook his head, saying, “Did you ever think you’d hear anything like that?” about Trump’s frequent promises of “retribution” if he’s re-elected.
After the event, TheWrap caught up with actress Connie Britton in the lobby. The “White Lotus” star said she was thrilled at the turnout and the support for the Democratic party’s nominee. “This is the most important election of our lifetime,” she said of what’s at stake in 2024.
California Governor Gavin Newsom and Democratic politicians Ted Lieu, Kevin De Leon, Robert Garcia and Grace Napolitano were in attendance. As were Jason Bateman and Kathryn Hahn, who introduced Kimmel and pretended to be annoyed that they were merely introducing the late night talk show host and not the president himself.
