Haim Saban Defends Biden’s Age Ahead of LA Fundraiser: ‘It’s Bulls–t’ | Exclusive
Haim Saban, who is hosting Tuesday night’s fundraiser for Joe Biden in Los Angeles ahead of the March presidential primary, dismissed concerns that, at 81, the president is too old for the job.
The Saban Capital Group founder told TheWrap that speculation about Biden’s age is, “Bullsh–t!”
“The experience that he has is second to none,” he added. Biden served as vice president for eight years under Barack Obama and represented Delaware in the Senate from 1973 to 2009.
“I think he is doing really, in my opinion, a great job. His leadership, his statesmanship, the way he’s defending democracy, growing our economy, fighting for liberty,” Saban, who feels that Biden’s accomplishments have been overlooked by the media, said.
Saban, who is Israeli-American, addressed the fact that Biden’s support of Israel — and America’s veto of U.N. resolutions for a cease-fire in Gaza without the release of Israeli hostages — may be eroding Democratic support in key constituencies.
“He’s paying a political price,” he said. “There’s never been a president as supportive in facts, not only in words, of Israel. If you take everything in general, and most specifically, in these dire times for Israel, he’s been pristine.”
He added that without Biden’s support, “Israel would be fighting this war with stones and stick.”
Saban acknowledged the increasing tension between Biden and Israel President Benjamin Netanyahu. “Bibi,” he said, using Netanyahu’s nickname, “is being led by the nose by extremists. So that’s why I’m supporting him [Biden].”
Saban and his wife Cheryl will not be in attendance at Tuesday’s event, which is cohosted at the Saban home by sports exec Casey Wasserman. “I got COVID. Everything is moving forward, just without Cheryl and I. It’s ridiculous. It’s at my home and I can’t go,” he said.
Later Tuesday, Wasserman also tested positive for COVID and will not be in attendance at the fundraiser, according to Deadline.
Cohosts of the Saban fundraiser also include former TV exec Leslie Gilbert-Lurie and vice chair of the Anti-Defamation League Nicole Mutchnik, as well as StubHub cofounder Eric Baker and former CBS and Warner Bros. Studio chief Bob Daly. Tickets for the event start at $3,300 and go up to $250,000, according to The Los Angeles Times.
On Tuesday, Biden’s campaign announced it raised $42 million in January and currently has a $130 million war chest, a record high for any Democratic presidential candidate at this point in the election cycle. According to OpenSecrets, Saban donated $3,300 and $3,299 to Biden’s campaign in September.
“We are particularly proud that January shattered our grassroots fundraising record for a third straight month,” TJ Ducklo, a spokesperson for the Biden campaign, said in a statement. “This haul will go directly to reaching the voters who will decide this election. That’s reason number 355 million that we are confident President Biden and Vice President Harris will win this November.”
Sharon Waxman contributed to this report.
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