Biden Enlists Bill and Hillary Clinton to Counter Trump’s Fundraising

(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden was joined by former President Bill Clinton and former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at a Virginia fundraiser on Tuesday, part of a week of furious fundraising to neutralize a flood of donations to former President Donald Trump.

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The event, which also featured former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, came just days after Biden held a high-powered Hollywood fundraiser with former President Barack Obama, late night host Jimmy Kimmel, and celebrities including George Clooney and Julia Roberts in Los Angeles. Biden has collected some $40 million for his reelection effort since Friday, his campaign said, including $8 million in donations at the reception in Virginia and a record $30 million in California.

That push comes as Trump – who for much of the campaign has significantly trailed Biden in fundraising – is quickly narrowing the gap. Trump beat Biden in fundraising for the first time in April, and announced that he had raised $141 million in May.

Biden’s campaign hasn’t yet released their May figures – which are required to be posted by the end of this week – but are expected to significantly trail Trump, whose donations skyrocketed following his conviction on 34 felony counts in a New York hush money trial. That could see the Republican narrow or even surpass Biden’s cash advantage with less than five months before Election Day.

Donors at the Virginia event were treated to a stinging critique of the presumptive Republican nominee by his past two opponents and one of his predecessors.

Hillary Clinton, a former secretary of state who lost the White House to Trump in 2016, labeled him a “clear and present danger” and said he was “willing to sell out America — our military, our secrets, our future.”

“Donald Trump spends every day thinking about himself, thinking about getting even with people who have slighted him or stood up to him,” she said.

Bill Clinton told the assembled Democratic donors he was “aghast” by Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, saying he was concerned by the Republican’s treatment of scientists during his administration.

And Biden hit Trump on inflation, arguing that his proposed tariff policies would dramatically increase the prices of consumer goods.

“The threat Trump poses will be greater in the second term than it was in the first,” Biden said.

Biden’s major fundraising push comes as he’s expected to step back from the campaign trail in the coming days, spending the Juneteenth holiday in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, with his family before departing to Camp David to prepare for his debate with Trump next Thursday.

By contrast, Trump is expected to attend fundraisers in Cleveland and Chicago on Thursday and in New Orleans next week, in addition to a political rally Saturday in Philadelphia.

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