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The epicenter of the presidential marketing campaign shifted to New York on Thursday, as 4 presidents descended on the world for a celebration and a wake that illustrated the sorts of political clashes that might come to outline the final election.
President Biden, together with Barack Obama and Invoice Clinton, arrived for a joint fund-raiser at Radio Metropolis Music Corridor that marketing campaign aides mentioned raised $25 million. The attention-popping quantity set a file for a single political occasion, in response to aides, and supplied a star-studded present of Democratic unity because the president heads right into a troublesome re-election marketing campaign.
Donald J. Trump, the previous president and presumptive Republican nominee, made his personal look within the space a number of hours earlier, at a funeral residence on Lengthy Island to go to with the household of a slain New York Metropolis police officer. His marketing campaign used the cease to attract a pointy distinction with Mr. Biden, attacking the Democrats for spending their night with donors and celebrities.
The high-profile dueling appearances represented an uncommon second in a normal election marketing campaign that has thus far been largely outlined by appearances in courtrooms and at small, invitation-only occasions. In latest weeks, Mr. Trump has spent much more time battling in court docket than in battleground states.
Mr. Biden, in the meantime, has elevated the tempo of his occasions since his State of the Union handle early this month. However the fund-raiser, with an anticipated 5,000 donors, will probably be one of many largest crowds he has appeared earlier than as president. It can increase an already important money benefit, too, elevating in a single night time $5 million greater than Mr. Trump reported gathering in February.
“This historic increase is a present of sturdy enthusiasm for President Biden and Vice President Harris and a testomony to the unprecedented fund-raising machine we’ve constructed,” mentioned a marketing campaign co-chair, Jeffrey Katzenberg.
The day’s occasions underscored a central dynamic of the race: Mr. Biden is campaigning with the power of the Democratic institution behind his bid, as Mr. Trump stands largely alone.
Whereas Mr. Trump has been endorsed by many Republicans in Congress, a small however persistent wing of the occasion has declined to assist his third run for the White Home. The one residing former Republican president has not endorsed his bid, nor has Mike Pence, his former vp.
Mr. Biden faces a distinct downside. Practically all Democratic Occasion officers, politicians and strategists stand behind his effort. But, he has confronted sustained opposition from a vocal minority of progressives who’ve protested the struggle in Gaza, by way of protest votes and occasion disruptions.
On Thursday, a bunch of a number of hundred protesters marched by way of the rain to face exterior the fund-raiser. “Biden, Biden, you’re a liar, we demand a cease-fire,” they chanted.
Contained in the corridor, the three presidents had been scheduled to look onstage earlier than almost 5,000 attendees for a dialog moderated by the late-night speak present host Stephen Colbert. A musical program, hosted by the actress Mindy Kaling, will function a collection of superstar endorsers together with Queen Latifah, Lizzo, Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo and Lea Michele.
Solely a small group of press touring with the White Home was allowed within the occasion and video footage by the information media was prohibited. Earlier than the fund-raiser, the three presidents participated in a joint interview on “Smartless,” a podcast hosted by the actors Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes.
Mr. Trump’s look struck a decidedly completely different tone. The previous president spent about half-hour inside a funeral residence in suburban Massapequa on Lengthy Island, visiting with the widow and 1-year-old son of Officer Jonathan Diller. Mr. Diller was fatally shot throughout a visitors cease on Monday.
Whereas not an official marketing campaign occasion, Mr. Trump took the chance to press his tough-on-crime message. Mr. Trump, who’s dealing with 4 legal circumstances, together with one in Manhattan that’s going to trial in lower than three weeks, stood in entrance of greater than a dozen cops and proclaimed the necessity for the nation to “get again to legislation and order.”
His marketing campaign pushed a distinct message, drawing a pointy distinction between Mr. Trump’s go to and the opposite political occasion taking place within the area.
“President Trump will probably be honoring the legacy of Officer Diller,” Steven Cheung, a marketing campaign spokesman, mentioned on social media.
Mayor Eric Adams of New York, who attended the wake after Mr. Trump, advised reporters that Mr. Biden had referred to as him to supply condolences that Mr. Adams mentioned he would relay to the household. Karine Jean-Pierre, the White Home press secretary, mentioned Mr. Biden has supported legislation enforcement officers all through his complete profession.
“Violent crime surged underneath the earlier administration,” she mentioned, talking aboard Air Power One, because the president traveled to New York Metropolis. “The Biden-Harris administration have performed the polar reverse, taking decisive motion from the very starting to fund the police and attaining a historic discount in crime.”
Michael Gold and Julian Roberts-Grmela contributed reporting.
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