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The Bidens join Bill and Hillary Clinton at $8m fundraiser at Terry McAuliffe's Virginia home after White House blasted video of Obama guiding the president as a 'cheap fake' video

3 months ago 14
  • Biden raised $30m at LA fundraiser with Obama and stars amid 'frozen' claims
  • On Tuesday they traveled to McAuliffe's northern Virginia home 

By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor

Published: 00:54 BST, 19 June 2024 | Updated: 01:54 BST, 19 June 2024

President Joe Biden continues to lean on his predecessors to snag record fundraising hauls – this time relying on Bill and Hillary Clinton to score $8 million in leafy northern Virginia.

Biden once again branded Donald Trump, who is polling close to him in the state, a 'convicted felon,' lacing into his opponent. 

'For the first time in American history, a former president is a convicted felon,' Biden told a crowd of donors. 'But, as disturbing as that is, more damning is the all-out assault Trump is making on our system of justice.'

Biden, 81, and first lady Jill Biden motorcaded to a fundraiser Tuesday evening that was revealed to be at the home of former governor and Democratic National Committee chair Terry McAuliffe. 

On hand were former President Bill Clinton and wife Hillary Clinton, who served as secretary of state during the Obama-Biden administration and whose unsuccessful 2016 presidential campaign came after Biden stepped aside and decided not to challenge her.

The backyard fundraiser had 450 attendees, making it the highest grossing backyard bash in the history of the Democratic Party, according to the Biden camp.

Biden thanked McAuliffe for supporting him when 'a lot of people believed that we couldn't win' and again this cycle, where Biden is tied with Donald Trump in the polls and some top Democrats are fretting about his poll performance. He called the Clintons 'dear friends' and 'great Americans.'

President Joe Biden hauled in $8m at a Virginia fundraiser on a day he took actions that could give citizenship to 500,000 migrants

It featured remarks by McAuliffe and the other top notables, and was a welcome relief for Biden from the PR mess that followed his $30 million Hollywood fundraiser in LA with former President Obama.

Virginia is a state where Biden finds himself virtually tied with Trump, even though it has trended Democratic in recent cycles. 

In both instances, Biden relied on his younger predecessors (Obama is 62 and Clinton is 77) to help him soak up donations from top Democratic donors.  

Video of Obama leading Biden offstage after a 30-minute interview with talk host Jimmy Kimmel went viral, after the former president grabbed a 'frozen' Obama who was taking in applause after the event and guided him off stage.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre blasted what she called 'cheap fakes' of unaltered video clips showing officials guiding the president, accusing rivals of using technology to run down Biden.

When DailyMail.com asked her Monday about Biden and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni guiding him after events, Jean-Pierre pointed to his long relationship with Obama. 

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke at the event

Hillary Clinton won the Democratic nomination in 2016 when Biden stepped aside, only to lose to Donald Trump

Former President Barack Obama guided Biden off stage following a big bucks fundraiser in Los Angeles

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tore into videos she called 'cheap fakes' that showed officials including Barack Obama guiding President Biden off stage

On Saturday, video of former President Barack Obama reaching for Biden's hand and seemingly guiding the 81-year-old Commander-in-Chief off the stage at a Los Angeles fundraiser went viral. 

'Let's not forget: President Obama, President Biden have a relationship. They are friends. They're like family. And I think that's what you saw,' she said, in reference to video after a $30 million fundraiser where Biden stood stationary for several seconds while the audience applauded at the end of the event before Obama grabbed him by the arm and led him off stage,' she said.

It came on a day when Biden celebrated a new executive action that could bring citizenship to 500,000 migrants who came here illegally but married U.S. citizens. He also took actions to bolster 'DREAMers' brought here by their parents illegally when they were children who got special status under the Obama administration.

Biden brought along big guns from the White House for the event including chief of staff Jeff Zients, and advisors Bruce Reed and Steve Ricchetti. 

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