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Are Democrats overhyping Biden’s campaign cash advantage?
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Joe Biden is far outpacing Donald Trump’s 2024 fundraising, especially after the president’s record-setting event last week featuring multiple celebrities and former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. That haul brings Biden’s total to more than $128 million compared with Trump’s $96 million.
That’s an impressive lead, but I had to ask my Post Opinions colleagues E.J. Dionne and James Hohmann: Are Democrats overestimating the electoral value of Biden’s fundraising?
Alexi McCammond: Is anyone else weirded out by how Democrats are bragging about the more than $25 million President Biden got from his mega-fundraiser with Barack Obama and Bill Clinton? Especially when small-dollar donations are obviously more indicative of grassroots support and enthusiasm?
E.J. Dionne: The collapse of limits on very high-dollar fundraising, thanks to Supreme Court decisions, is really disturbing. There is a problem with this system we should confront again.
James Hohmann: I thought the most under-covered aspect of the mega-fundraiser is Clinton’s comeback as a surrogate. He was almost nowhere to be seen during the 2022 midterms. After #MeToo, a lot of Democrats saw him as a liability. Even Terry McAuliffe, Clinton’s best friend in politics, raised money with him but didn’t stump with him in 2021. A stark contrast to McAuliffe’s run for Virginia governor in 2013, when they went everywhere together. The question now is how active Clinton will be on the campaign trail. And what kind of slot will he get to speak at the convention in Chicago?
E.J.: Clinton’s being there was a big deal — a sign that Biden knows he needs to mobilize the entire Democratic Party. I think a lot of Biden’s early moves are aimed at reassuring and rallying Democrats. He needs to get that done early after all the stories........
© Washington Post
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