President Joe Biden continues to lean on his predecessors to bring in record fundraising — this time relying on Bill and Hillary Clinton to score $8 million in verdant northern Virginia.
Biden again labeled Donald Trump, who is polling close to him in the state, as a “convicted felon” who is outing his opponent.
“All I’m saying is that Trump has made it clear: if he wins, he will undo everything we’ve done. “For the first time in American history, a former president is a convicted felon,” Biden told a crowd. donors. “But as disturbing as that is, what is more devastating is Trump’s all-out attack on our justice system.”
McAuliffe has made a promise to Biden that he only has to keep if he has the upper hand in a race in which he was tied 49-49 with Trump on Tuesday, according to a new poll. “If you win again, I offer myself now… I will mow the lawn at the White House,” McAuliffe joked.
He also made a splash at the $30 million celebrity Hollywood fundraiser, where Biden was mocked for being “frozen” as he walked off stage. “We don’t need all those movie stars and jugglers and singers and farm animals, whatever they have,” he joked.
Biden, 81, and first lady Jill Biden drove to a fundraiser Tuesday evening that reportedly took place at the home of former governor and Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe.
As he attacked Trump, Biden accused his rival of “rushing” the unexpected defeat.
“You know, he snapped when he lost. I mean this sincerely. He cannot accept that he has lost. It literally drives him crazy. That’s why January 6 happened – and now he’s back in business,” Biden said.
In attendance were former President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton, who served as secretary of state during the Obama-Biden administration and whose failed 2016 presidential campaign came after Biden stepped aside and decided not to challenge her.
The backyard fundraiser had 450 attendees, making it the highest-grossing backyard party in Democratic Party history, according to the Biden camp.
Biden thanked McAuliffe for his support when “a lot of people believed we couldn’t win” and again this cycle, when Biden is tied with Donald Trump in the polls and some top Democrats are concerned about his polling. He called the Clintons “best friends” and “great Americans.”
President Joe Biden raised $8 million at a fundraiser in Virginia on a day he took actions that could give citizenship to 500,000 migrants
“During his campaign, Trump made it clear that he wants revenge. And now, after his criminal conviction, he is clear that he is concerned about preserving his freedom,” Biden told the crowd.
The event featured remarks from McAuliffe and the other top notables, and was a welcome relief for Biden from the PR mess that followed his $30 million Hollywood fundraiser in LA with former President Obama.
Virginia is a state where Biden is virtually tied with Trump, even though it has turned Democratic in recent cycles.
In both cases, Biden relied on his younger predecessors (Obama is 62 and Clinton is 77) to help him secure donations from top Democratic donors.
In her remarks, Hillary Clinton compared herself to Cassandra from the Greek myths, although she was criticized for not having campaigned in Michigan until 2016.
“That’s how I felt in 2016 when I sounded the alarm about Donald Trump,” Clinton said.
Video of Obama leading Biden offstage after a 30-minute interview with host Jimmy Kimmel went viral after the former president grabbed a “frozen” Obama who received applause after the event and led him offstage.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre denounced what she called “cheap fakes” of unaltered video clips showing officials escorting the president, accusing rivals of using technology to take down Biden.
When asked by DailyMail.com on Monday about guidance from Biden and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after the events, Jean-Pierre pointed to his long relationship with Obama.
Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke at the event
Hillary Clinton won the Democratic nomination in 2016 when Biden stepped aside, but lost to Donald Trump
Former President Barack Obama led Biden off stage after a fundraiser in Los Angeles
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tore up videos she called “cheap fakes” showing officials including Barack Obama escorting President Biden from the stage
On Saturday, a video of former President Barack Obama grabbing Biden’s hand and apparently leading the 81-year-old commander in chief off stage during a fundraiser in Los Angeles went viral.
“Let’s not forget: President Obama and President Biden are in a relationship. They are friends. They are like family. And I think you saw that,” she said, referring to a video after a $30 million fundraiser in which Biden stood still for several seconds as the crowd applauded at the end of the event before Obama took him by the arm grabbed him and led him off the stage. ,’ she said.
It came on a day when Biden celebrated a new executive action that could bring citizenship to 500,000 migrants who came here illegally but married U.S. citizens. He also took action to support “DREAMers” who were brought here illegally by their parents when they were children and given special status under the Obama administration.
Biden brought the big guns from the White House for the event, including chief of staff Jeff Zients and advisers Bruce Reed and Steve Ricchetti.