Biden slams the Supreme Court and rips into Trump at Jimmy Kimmel-hosted celebrity fundraiser attended by Obama, George Clooney and Julia Roberts
President Joe Biden took aim at the “distant” conservative Supreme Court and excoriated Donald Trump as he appeared with former President Obama at a glitzy fundraiser in Los Angeles on Saturday evening as protesters gathered outside.
The president was on the West Coast to raise money alongside Obama for his re-election bid at the celebrity-packed event, fresh off a trip to the G7 in Italy.
The event raised more than $30 million for the president’s campaign and was attended by Hollywood royalty including George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Barbra Streisand, according to a campaign official.
During a program led by host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel, 81-year-old Biden focused on abortion and the Supreme Court. He warned that the next president will likely have new nominees for the nation’s highest court.
President Biden and former President Obama appear at a fundraiser for Biden’s re-election campaign in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday evening
Biden called allowing Trump to pick two more justices “one of the scariest parts” of electing the Republican ex-president to a second term, saying no Supreme Court has ever been so far out of step.
The president also singled out Justice Clarence Thomas, noting that the conservative member had said the court, which struck down the federal right to abortion in 2022, should reconsider issues such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) and contraception.
While sitting next to Obama at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles, Biden and Kimmel also made some jokes about the president’s predecessor and Republican opponent.
Kimmel pointed out how Biden said he was running to restore the soul of the nation: “Looks like we might need an exorcism. Is that why you visited the Pope?’ referring to Biden’s recent meeting with Pope Francis in Italy.
Biden brought up Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Do you remember the pandemic? He said don’t worry, just inject a little bleach,” the president said.
“It worked for me,” Kimmel joked.
‘It worked [Trump]Biden responded. “It colored his hair.”
During the program with comedian Jimmy Kimmel, Biden focused on the conservative Supreme Court and his Republican opponent Donald Trump
Obama also joined the conversation in which he praised Biden and criticized Trump for his recent felony conviction in New York and other controversies.
Obama praised his former vice president and himself warned about the upcoming presidential elections.
‘I“It reminds us that we don’t have to just vote against anything in this election,” Obama said. ‘We have someone to worry about, and there’s a whole agenda to worry about, but we can be proud to acknowledge the extraordinary work that Joe has done.”
Obama, who also appeared with Biden earlier this year for a fundraiser in New York City and for campaign videos, took aim at Trump’s recent felony conviction in New York.
“We have normalized behavior that used to be disqualified,” he criticized the ex-president.
“We are witnessing the spectacle of the candidate of one of the two major parties appearing in court and being convicted on 34 counts by a jury of his peers,” Obama said.
‘His foundation is not allowed to operate because it was involved in monkey business. You see his organization being prosecuted for not paying taxes,” Obama continued.
The 44th president reached out to people who are conservatives and disagree with him or Biden but who believe in “fundamental fairness.”
“There are certain norms and values that we must stand for,” he said.
While Biden and Obama interacted with celebrities inside, pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the Los Angeles venue.
Dozens of protesters gathered outside the entrance to Biden’s campaign fundraiser in Los Angeles
Pro-Palestinian protesters in Los Angeles carried signs and waved flags as Biden and Obama joked with comedian Jimmy Kimmel at the Peacock Theater
The protesters standing outside in downtown LA are the latest in a long line of pro-Palestinian demonstrators showing up for Biden’s events across the country
The large crowd carried Palestinian flags and signs calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to US aid to Israel.
It was the latest in a series of protests that have emerged outside of Biden’s events since the war in Gaza began more than six months ago in response to Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel.