President Joe Biden was joined Thursday by two of his Democratic predecessors for a star-studded fundraiser at Radio City Music Hall that his campaign said brought in more than $26 million.
Former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton attended the event in New York with more than 5,000 supporters in attendance, including several protesters who disrupted the program while the three presidents were speaking.
Actor and comedian Mindy Kaling hosted the program, which ended around 10 p.m. and late-night host Stephen Colbert moderated a conversation with Biden, Clinton and Obama. Special guests include celebrities such as Queen Latifah, Lizzo, Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo and Lea Michele.
During the nearly hour-long moderated conversation, Colbert joked that the moment was historic because “three presidents came to New York, and none of them to appear in court,” mocking the country’s criminal charges and civil trials. former President Donald Trump.
Clinton also criticized Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, arguing that he “had a good couple of years because he stole them from Barack Obama.”
But the discussion was interrupted at least five times by protesters. Colbert recognized a protester and asked Biden what the United States’ role is in ensuring a peaceful and prosperous future for both Israelis and Palestinians.
Biden said more needs to be done to get aid to Gaza, but added that Israel’s very existence is at stake.
“There has to be a train to a two-state solution,” Biden said. “It doesn’t have to go forward today. There has to be a progression. And I think we can do that.”
His response was met with a standing ovation and chants of “four more years.”
Obama sternly addressed a protester when he was interrupted, saying, “You can’t just talk and not listen.”
“This is part of democracy,” Obama added. “Part of democracy is not just talking. It’s listening. That’s what the other side does, and it’s important for us to understand that it’s possible to have moral clarity and have deep beliefs, but at the same time recognize that the world is complicated and It’s difficult to solve these problems.”
The crowd burst into applause.
Biden’s team has taken steps to minimize disruption, including scaling back events and hiding exact locations for longer than usual, following a January speech in which pro-Palestinian protesters interrupted him a dozen times.
Outside the New York headquarters on Thursday, more than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters chanted slogans such as “Biden, Biden, you are a liar” and waved Palestinian flags and signs with anti-war messages.
The group Abandon Biden encouraged people to protest the president during his visit over the White House’s handling of the war between Israel and Hamas.
“We cannot stand by while our president aids and abets genocide in Gaza,” the group’s co-president in New York, Mosaab Sadia, said in a statement. “The movement to abandon Biden is just beginning.”
Inside Radio City Music Hall, the novelty of having three presidents in the same room was not lost on attendees.
At the beginning of the program, Kaling joked about having Biden, Obama and Clinton in the same room, saying that when someone shouts “Mr. President,” three people turn around.
Ticket prices started at $250, but the largest contributions reached up to half a million dollars. Some of the largest donors were supposed to have their picture taken with all three presidents by photographer Annie Leibovitz.
First lady Jill Biden called the program “the fundraiser to end all fundraisers.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., also offered remarks.
For the three presidents, the fundraiser capped a day of mobilization efforts that included participation in an interview on the “SmartLess” podcast, which the White House said would be available at a later, unspecified date.
They also sat down for a discussion with Biden’s campaign manager, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, which was livestreamed to grassroots donors. The presidents talked about reelection efforts — both Clinton and Obama served two terms — as well as lighter topics, like favorite ice creams.
“You are all part of an incredible team that we are building and we are just getting started,” Biden said in his closing message during the discussion. “So let’s move on. Let’s win this November.”
The trio arrived together at Radio City Music Hall in “The Beast” – the president’s car in the motorcade.
Biden also invited Obama to board The Beast after landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport, where they enjoyed catching up on their personal and professional lives, an Obama aide told NBC News.
The show of unity among Biden, Clinton and Obama stands in stark contrast to Trump, who faces opposition from members of his own administration, including former Vice President Mike Pence, as he seeks to return to the White House in November.
Former President George W. Bush – the only other former Republican president – refused to support Trump in 2020.
The Trump campaign has not hosted a major event since March 16. Last Thursday, Trump attended the wake for a New York police officer who was shot and killed in Queens on Monday.
Biden and Trump are voting neck and neck, with 46% of voters supporting Trump and 45% supporting Biden, according to a March CNBC poll. That poll, however, had Trump ahead of Biden by 30 percentage points when respondents were asked which candidate was better on economic issues.
During Thursday’s moderated discussion, Colbert asked Clinton what she would say to voters who don’t think the economy is strong. Clinton responded that the 2008 recession and Covid are still affecting voters and that Trump did not support the economic growth spurred by Obama. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have methodically “put Humpty Dumpty back together,” Clinton said.
“We shouldn’t make the 2016 mistake again,” he added, referring to when Trump defeated his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.