Biden wraps up fundraising blitz for early statement

Associated Press

Washington: President Joe Biden has cozied up to high-dollar donors at posh Upper East Side penthouses and on West Coast decks gussied up with floral arrangements and flags in recent weeks.

He has two more fundraisers in New York on Thursday that will close out an end-of-quarter campaign blitz his team believes will put him on strong financial footing for a contest they expect to set new spending records. Friday's events will be Biden's 9th and 10th fundraising receptions of the past two weeks, numbers that have been matched by Vice President Kamala Harris, first lady Jill Biden, and second gentleman Doug Emhoff.

The Biden campaign has been mum on how much he has raised at the often free-wheeling events, but it is broadcasting confidence in the size of the haul ahead of the July 15 reporting date. The president is also marshaling the whole of the Democratic Party to dial for dollars, enlisting help from up-and-comers like Govs. Gavin Newsom of California and J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and more established figures like former President Barack Obama.

Obama on Thursday will be featured in a new Biden campaign video meant to encourage small-dollar online donations ahead of the Friday donation deadline. Allies insist that despite polls showing lagging enthusiasm among the Democratic base for the 80-yearold president, the party is solidly behind him.

“I've been doing this for a really long time for a number of presidents and presidential candidates,” said Jeffrey Katzenberg, the Hollywood mogul, Democratic mega-donor and co-chair of Biden's campaign. “I've never seen from top to bottom, the Democratic enterprise kick into gear this way, from President Obama, governors, senators, congressmen, just across the board — he's gotten outstanding support.”

Aides say they are trying to motivate donors — especially small-dollar contributors — to dig deeper into their pockets early on. The recent blitz was also a function of Biden's day job, Katzenberg said, adding that “his first, second and third job is to run the country.” Biden's foreign trips in April and May, and the weekslong showdown over raising the nation's debt limit,  kept him in Washington