عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Pro-Palestinian Protesters Interrupt Biden, Obama, Clinton at $25 Million New York Fundraiser

Protestors, calling for ceasefire in Gaza, attend a demonstration near Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan, on the day of a fundraising event for US President Joe Biden with him and former US Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, in New York City, US, March 28, 2024. (Reuters)
Protestors, calling for ceasefire in Gaza, attend a demonstration near Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan, on the day of a fundraising event for US President Joe Biden with him and former US Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, in New York City, US, March 28, 2024. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Pro-Palestinian Protesters Interrupt Biden, Obama, Clinton at $25 Million New York Fundraiser

Protestors, calling for ceasefire in Gaza, attend a demonstration near Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan, on the day of a fundraising event for US President Joe Biden with him and former US Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, in New York City, US, March 28, 2024. (Reuters)
Protestors, calling for ceasefire in Gaza, attend a demonstration near Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan, on the day of a fundraising event for US President Joe Biden with him and former US Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, in New York City, US, March 28, 2024. (Reuters)

President Joe Biden and his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, headlined a star-studded fundraiser with former President Bill Clinton on Thursday, offering a robust defense of the White House's handling of the Gaza crisis as protesters interrupted the event.

Biden, who traveled with Obama on Air Force One to New York, took part in a discussion with Clinton moderated by "The Late Show" host Stephen Colbert at the iconic Radio City Music Hall in front of thousands of guests. Organizers say the event raised more than $25 million for Biden's US reelection campaign.

But the fundraiser was punctuated by several protests inside the massive auditorium, with attendees rising at several different moments to shout over the discussion, referencing Biden's backing of Israel in the Hamas war that has killed more than 30,000 people in Gaza.

"Shame on you, Joe Biden!" one yelled.

Obama and Clinton offered a presidential perspective of the Gaza crisis that stressed the political realities of being in the White House.

A president needs to be able to support Israel at the same time as fighting for Palestinians to have more access to food, medical supplies and a future state, they said.

"It's a lonely seat," Obama said. "One of the realities of the presidency is that the world has a lot of joy and beauty, but it also has a lot of tragedy and cruelty."

People "understandably, oftentimes, want to feel a certain purity in terms of how those decisions are made," he said. "But a president doesn't have that luxury."

When a protestor inside the theater interrupted Obama, the former president snapped back: "You can't just talk and not listen...That's what the other side does."

The pair of former presidents also defended Biden's handling of the economy, which gets low ratings in national polls.

Clinton said Biden's economic numbers have significantly outpaced Trump's administration.

"I believe in keeping score," Clinton said. "He's been good for America" and deserves another term.

Before the event, the three leaders' motorcade passed hundreds of protesters demonstrating against Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza, another sign that some young voters and other progressives who voted for Biden in 2020 are furious about his staunch backing of Israel in its response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.

LIZZO, $500,000 TICKETS

The event included musicians Queen Latifah, Lizzo, Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo and Lea Michele performing. Some high-paying attendees had their pictures with the three presidents taken by celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz.

Former President Donald Trump, Biden's Republican challenger in November's election, was in the New York area on Thursday as well, attending a wake for a slain New York City policeman.

Biden, 81, has faced concerns about his age and fitness for a second four-year term. Recent Reuters/Ipsos polls show his approval rating at 40% and in a tight race with Trump, 77, ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

The show of support from Biden's predecessors was meant to demonstrate party unity and project fundraising strength.

Tickets for Thursday's Biden event cost between $250 and $500,000, according to a Democrat familiar with the planning. More than 5,000 people were expected to attend.

Biden's high-profile allies are seeking to shore up his support despite opinion polls showing tepid enthusiasm for the president and in contrast to a Republican Party where many major figures oppose Trump.

Biden showed flashes of humor at the event. He referenced President Harry Truman's advice that if you wanted a friend in Washington, get a dog. Biden quipped that he got one and it bit a Secret Service agent. The president's dog Commander left the White House last year after a series of biting incidents.

The event closed with each of the men donning aviator sunglasses, Bidens trademark.

"Dark Brandon is real," Biden bellowed, referencing a meme about himself.

TRUMP IN LONG ISLAND

Earlier on Long Island, east of New York, Trump attended a wake for Jonathan Diller, the policeman who was gunned down during a routine traffic stop earlier this week in the city.

"These things can't happen. We need law and order," Trump, surrounded by mourning uniformed officers, told reporters gathered outside a funeral home in Massapequa.

Trump has sought to make supporting police a focal point of his campaign, while criticizing law enforcement that targets him.

He faces four criminal trials for his efforts to undermine the 2020 election, his mishandling of classified documents and his involvement in a "hush money" scheme involving a porn star. He was fined hundreds of millions of dollars for overstating his net worth to lenders. He says he is innocent.

Biden has been routinely outraising Trump and is taking in more money than his rival in big donations and small donations under $200. Biden's reelection effort raised more than $53 million in February and $10 million in the 24 hours following his March 7 address to Congress.

Trump aims to raise $33 million in an April 6 fundraiser, a source familiar with the Republican's plans told Reuters.

A Trump campaign adviser said on Thursday the candidate won't be able to match Biden's totals, blaming the disparity on the Democrat's "billionaire" supporters and painting a picture of a Trump campaign fueled by grassroots, working-class supporters.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Kamala Harris Made History as Vice President. The Rest Didn't Go as Planned

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, at a National Action Network event in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, at a National Action Network event in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
TT
TT

Kamala Harris Made History as Vice President. The Rest Didn't Go as Planned

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, at a National Action Network event in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, at a National Action Network event in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

With Donald Trump’s return to the White House only days away, Kamala Harris ' staff packed into her ceremonial office to watch her sign the desk, a tradition performed by her predecessors for decades. Her husband, Doug Emhoff, stood behind her to take a photo as she wielded her Sharpie marker.
"It is not my nature to go quietly into the night," Harris said Thursday. “So don't worry about that.”
But what is next for her?
“I'll keep you posted," she said.
Harris hasn't made any plans for after leaving office Monday, apart from flying home to California. It will be the first time since 2004, when she became San Francisco's district attorney, that she hasn't held elected office.
There's talk that she'll write a book and speculation that she could run for governor or maybe president again. At 60 years old, Harris is still young in a political world where the last two presidents have set records as the oldest ever elected.
Donna Brazile, a longtime leader in the Democratic Party, recalled telling Harris that she needs to take a break and “learn what it's like to oversleep” for a while. They both laughed, and Brazile said, "Yeah, you’ll never go back to being ordinary.”
Brazile was campaign manager for Al Gore, the last sitting vice president to run for the top job.
“I’ve had more people call me about what’s next for Kamala Harris than called me about what’s next for Al Gore," she said.
Harris' term was both ordinary and extraordinary. Like many of her predecessors, she spent her time tending to a portfolio of issues — migration, abortion rights and maternal health among them — and representing the country overseas. Sometimes she struggled to distinguish herself, a common challenge in a job that comes with little constitutional responsibility.
But Harris also made history as the first woman, Black person or person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president. And last year, Harris was thrust into an unprecedented situation when President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid and endorsed her as his successor.
There were only 107 days left in the campaign, leaving Harris in a sprint for the presidency. She instantly reset the terms of the race against Trump, who is nearly two decades older than her, but was unable to defeat him.
Many Democrats blamed Biden for running in the first place and putting Harris in an impossible position. Harris faced her own criticism, too.
Some said she should have sent a more populist message instead of focusing on Trump's antidemocratic threats by campaigning with Liz Cheney, a former Republican congresswoman. She also failed to separate herself from Biden, who remains deeply unpopular with voters.
Minyon Moore, who chaired last year's Democratic National Convention, downplayed the criticisms by saying “ifa, woulda, coulda, shoulda.”
With Harris facing such an unusual campaign, Moore said, “there was no road map for what she should have done.”
Harris hasn't answered questions about her loss, nor has she shared her own perspective on the election. Her public remarks have been limited to rallying cries for students and others who are disappointed by Trump's victory, especially after Democrats described him as an existential threat to the country.
“No one can walk away," Harris said in one speech. "We must stay in the fight. Every one of us.”
Harris hoped to close out her term with an around-the-world trip to Singapore, Bahrain and Germany, a final opportunity to showcase her role on foreign policy. But she decided to stay in Washington as wildfires spread around Los Angeles. Her own house, in the Brentwood neighborhood, has been in an evacuation zone.
Harris didn't travel to the area because she was concerned about diverting local resources from responding to the fire, according to an official in her office who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss her planning.
Despite canceling her overseas trip, Harris has signaled her interest in remaining involved on the global stage. She's spent time in her final week in office making calls to foreign leaders including King Abdullah II of Jordan, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo.
On Wednesday, she was in the Oval Office to watch Biden give his farewell address. He described her as “a great partner,” and they embraced after the speech.
Biden chose Harris as his running mate after her first presidential campaign stalled four years ago. After taking office, her schedule was limited by the coronavirus pandemic and her obligations on Capitol Hill. With the US Senate evenly divided, she was often called on to cast tiebreaking votes, eventually setting a record as she helped advance judicial nominees and landmark legislation.
“She had to find her role," said Joel Goldstein, a historian who has studied the vice presidency. "It took some time to figure it out.”
Moore remembered an Oval Office meeting with Harris and other senior advisers as Biden deliberated whom to nominate for the US Supreme Court. Although it was unlikely that a liberal justice would have many opportunities to write majority opinions on a court dominated by conservatives, Moore said Harris focused on which candidate would harness the platform to issue dissenting opinions.
Harris wanted “somebody who could think through the nuances of writing those dissensions,” Moore said. Biden nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson, fulfilling his promise to put a Black woman on the bench, and she's often drawn attention for her sharp dissenting opinions.
One of Harris' original tasks, reducing migration from Central America, became a political burden. Republicans described her as the “border czar” and blamed her for illegal crossings. However, fewer migrants came from the countries where Harris focused her efforts.
She met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Munich shortly before the Russian invasion began three years ago, and she spent a week in Africa to lay the groundwork for renewed US engagement.
Harris also traveled three times to Southeast Asia as the administration tried to reorient foreign policy to confront China's influence.
“She had the perception that we could use even more of an emphasis on this occasionally overlooked part of the world," said Phil Gordon, Harris' national security adviser.
Abortion rights became a defining issue for Harris after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Biden was more hesitant on the topic, and Harris started headlining the White House's efforts.
Lorraine Voles, Harris' chief of staff, said the court decision was “a turning point" for the vice president.
“That opened up a lane for her in a way that maybe wasn’t there previously," she said. "People were not focused on the issue of maternal health and reproductive health until people began to see it threatened.”
Nadia Brown, a Georgetown University government professor who focuses on Black women and politics, said Harris will “certainly go down in the history books” for breaking down racial and gender barriers in politics.
She said Harris' time as vice president helped expand the views of "everyday Americans who might have misconceptions about what a leader could be or should be.”
The only question left is what Harris decides to do now.
“It’s not over," Brown said. "But I’m not sure what that next chapter is.”