Sometimes when a president needs a hand, only another president – or another two – will do.
President Joe Biden’s bid for a second term and reelection campaign coffers will get a hefty boost on Thursday when he’s joined in New York by his two immediate predecessors as Democratic presidents, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
The lucrative fundraiser in New York will send a message of commitment from the 42nd and 44th presidents for the 46th’s bid to prevent the 45th president, Donald Trump, from returning as the 47th.
Biden’s reelection campaign announced Thursday that this evening’s fundraiser has raised over $25 million – building on an already-impressive war chest as Biden heads into a general election rematch against Trump.
Obama, especially, has become increasingly involved in Biden’s reelection campaign in recent weeks, motivated by alarm at the possibility that his friend and former vice president will be forced, like he was, to hand the Oval Office to Trump. CNN’s MJ Lee and Jeff Zeleny reported Wednesday that Obama was in the White House for a working visit just last week. Sources said Biden has also been in regular touch with Clinton, who was in the White House when the current president was a major Senate voice on foreign policy and judicial issues.
The appearance of the three men together at Radio City Music Hall will conjure a moment of symbolism that will underscore the stakes of the election. Two Democratic presidents who won second terms are uniting to try to usher a successor, who is older than both of them, into the same rarified political air.
It will also mark a rare occasion when four presidents are in one area, other than Washington, on the same day. Trump, who is permanently estranged from the ex-presidents’ club because of his extreme behavior, is due on Long Island on Thursday to attend a wake for slain New York City Police Office Jonathan Diller.
