President Joe Biden is to travel to Los Angeles later in the week to attend two major fundraisers, tapping in to vital West Coast donations before the end of the final financial quarter of 2023.
Biden’s LA trip will be the first to California since last month, when he attended the APEC Summit in San Francisco over a period of four days. However, rather than be on an official White House visit and meeting with foreign dignitaries such as Chinese President Xi Jinping, Biden is to be here on party and campaign business, attending fundraisers alongside Hollywood celebrities such as Director Steven Spielberg, singer Barbra Streisand, and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
Biden is expected to attend two fundraisers in and around LA at the end of the week. While one will be more of a general fundraiser with higher income donors, the other is a massive concert fundraiser headlined by Musician Lenny Kravitz. The latter event is to be held at the home of celebrity interior designer Michael Smith and former Ambassador to Spain James Costos. Others expected to attend include director Rob Reiner, music industry executive David Geffen, developer and former LA Mayoral candidate Rick Caruso, and others.
Top donors from both events are expected to give nearly one million dollars each, with the latter event already being compared to a George Clooney Obama fundraiser in 2012 that brought in the Obama campaign nearly $15 million. With Democratic fundraising in the entertainment industry nearly $20 million behind where it was in previous years due to the Hollywood strikes this year disrupting fundraising events, the events this week are expected to bring things back to normal.
“We continue to see sustained enthusiasm from our supporters across the country who understand the stakes of this election and are deeply committed to ensuring the president has the resources we need to win next November,” said Biden campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz on Monday. “We’re putting in the work across our fundraising program and look forward to again outperforming the MAGA field.”
Experts told the Globe on Monday that Democrats were severely lacking in larger-scale events with celebrities this year because of the strike, and that the fourth-quarter would be vital for catching up.
“In addition to the two LA events, Biden is going to Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington for all these events with big names being there, and more importantly, deep pockets,” added Melanie Porter, an events coordinator in Los Angeles who helps with political events in California, Nevada, and Arizona. “The strike messed things up for them. Republicans don’t have to rely on Hollywood for donations, or at least not nearly as much as the Democrats do, so they can hold more events out of that sphere. Also, Republicans who are celebrities are generally lower-key when going to fundraisers. Whenever you are setting up tables, it’s always surprising to see just who is showing up.
“Democratic events are usually more of a spectacle, so you have more concerts, more publicly known names, and in general, make it more of a whose who event. And of course, you pay more, the closer you get to the President. So those million dollar seats make sense.
“The Biden campaign is going to make a ton of money from these events, and this comes just as the 2024 campaign season comes. He is expecting a tough challenge from Trump, especially with his approval rating being below where Trump’s was this time in his term. So, he is hitting all the main spots for money.
“California is a huge donor to Republicans too. GOP candidates come out here all the time for fundraisers, and even though they might not get the electoral votes, a lot of Republicans get elected in based in part by California money. But for Democrats, California is vital, in part because of the entertainment industry. That’s why Biden is making the trek out here. Money and showing the Dems that he still has it.”
The latter Hollywood event is expected to take place on Friday in Los Angeles.
