Biden campaign to bring in massive $25M haul at star-packed fundraiser

President Joe Biden will shatter fundraising records with a star-studded event on Thursday, with his campaign saying that it will bring in $25 million for an event featuring former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton and late-night host Stephen Colbert.

The one-night extravaganza will all but certainly increase Biden’s sizable financial advantage over former President Donald Trump, who raised about $20 million in all of February. And it will serve as a vivid reminder that the president has ample resources at his disposal as he tries to claw his way up from a small but persistent polling deficit in the general election.

The Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee have $97.5 million in cash, more than double the $44.8 million in the bank for Trump and the Republican National Committee.

As Biden has socked away money, Trump has been forced to spend significant cash on a number of legal battles. The Biden campaign, for its part, has begun to unload its war chest in TV and digital ads, with a $30 million effort this spring designed to boost Biden’s record and attack Trump.

Thursday night’s event will dwarf anything the Biden operation has done to this point. By comparison, the president’s reelection campaign raised $21 million in all of February. And in 2020, a joint virtual fundraiser featuring Biden and Obama raised more than $11 million.

Actress Mindy Kaling will emcee the program at Radio City Music Hall, which will also include musical performances from Queen Latifah, Lizzo, Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo and Lea Michele. Colbert will moderate an “armchair conversation” with the trio of presidents, according to a campaign memo announcing the fundraising totals Thursday morning. More than 5,000 people are expected to attend in person, while thousands more are expected to tune in online.

Tickets for the events started at $250. But entry into smaller, more intimate receptions went for $250,000 to $500,000. A photo with all three presidents cost $100,000. The money will go to the Biden Victory Fund, the Biden campaign’s joint fundraising operation.

“The numbers don’t lie: today’s event is a massive show of force and a true reflection of the momentum to reelect the Biden-Harris ticket,” Jeffrey Katzenberg, the Biden campaign co-chair, said in a statement. “Unlike our opponent, every dollar we’re raising is going to reach the voters who will decide this election — communicating the President's historic record, his vision for the future and laying plain the stakes of this election.”