UPDATE: Joe Biden was joined by First Lady Jill Biden as they attended the first of two Los Angeles fundraisers on Friday at the home of Andrew Hauptman, with Jeffrey Katzenberg as co-host.
The president talked about Ukraine, noting that “a lot of people thought I was exaggerating” about a potential Russian invasion, but “I knew we had data to sustain,” per the Daily Mail. Biden said that there was “no doubt and [Ukraine’s president Volodymyr] didn’t want to hear it nor did a lot of people.”
The first lady criticized the The New York Times coverage of the Summit of the Americas, highlighting some discord by foreign leaders, and said that the publication’s story was “unfair.” She said that “every leader came up to Joe and said, ‘What a difference you’ve made. It’s so great that you’re here. It’s so great that we’re working together.”
PREVIOUSLY: President Joe Biden will headline two fundraisers in Los Angeles on Friday, starting with an event in Brentwood that is expected to raise almost $2.5 million for the Democratic National Committee.
The event, at the home of Andrew Hauptman and Ellen Bronfman Hauptman, was expected to draw about 30 donors, according to organizers. The event was co-hosted by Jeffrey Katzenberg, who along with Hauptman has been a top fundraiser for the Biden-Harris ticket.
Ticket prices were $50,000 per individual and $100,000 to co-host. The money raised will go to the DNC’s Democratic Grassroots Victory Fund, which funds grassroots infrastructure and state party committees.
Biden has been in Los Angeles for the Summit of the Americas.
After that event, Biden plans to headline another fundraiser at the home of Haim and Cheryl Saban. Tickets start at $1,000 per person. At the top level is a “sponsor” ticket for those who wrote or raised $36,500.
Andrew Hauptman and Katzenberg raised more than $13 million for the Biden-Harris campaign in 2020, and nearly $5 million for the Senate Majority PAC.
Hauptman, the chairman of Andell Holdings, said in a statement, “With the Senate and House in play and so many other critical races this November up and down the ballot, we need to do all we can to support President Biden right now.”
Katzenberg said in a statement, “The money raised today will help get people to the polls on election day in November. Just the idea of Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell in charge should be enough to get people out to vote.”
Organizers of the event are Jennifer Gonring, Jennifer Lin and Andy Spahn of GLS, a strategic consulting firm in Los Angeles and Washington.