First Lady Jill Biden was in Los Angeles for a Biden Victory Fund fundraising event over the weekend. Prior to Biden’s arrival at Dr. Patricia Gordon’s Hancock Park residence, a crowd of protestors gathered outside with pictures of Israeli hostages taken during the Hamas attack on October 7, chanting “bring them home.”
Gordon’s residence hosted approximately 50 people, which was a ticketed and invite-only affair. The co-hosts included Dr. Patricia Gordon, Daniel McLoon, Jonathan Mildenhall, and Mirco Gros, Jason Haider, Wesley Phoa, Margaret Morgan, and John and Gill Wagner. Some of the attendees included President and First Lady’s daughter Ashley Biden, National Chair of the Biden Victory Fund Chris Korge, and re-election campaign advisor Jeffrey Katzenberg.
According to Gordon, upon introducing the First Lady, the fundraising event raised over $1 million. Biden gave her ten-minute speech discussing her early days of dating Joe Biden and highlighting the president’s accomplishments. She continued to urge the attendees that President Biden must be reelected in November.
Early Dating Days
The First Lady told the story of how she and the president met. In the ’70s, she described how men wore tie-dye clothing and clogs with long hair, and she “took one look at his perfect suit and his leather loafers and I thought ‘thank god it’s only one date.” But this date instead turned into a marriage proposal and lifelong commitment. Biden was “continually inspired by his resilience and his optimism and his strength” when the president lost his first wife and daughter in a car accident.
The President’s Accomplishments
The First Lady discussed President Biden’s key accomplishments while he has been in office. This includes “the boldest climate change legislation in American history”, appointing Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court of the United States, post-pandemic economic recovery and lower gas, energy, and prescription drug prices.
In regards to the war in the Middle East and Ukraine, Biden said that the world is in “tumultuous times” and that “the steadiness and the expertise of a tested, proven leader like my husband” can help mitigate these issues. “Joe isn’t just the right person for the job, he’s the only person,” said Biden.
On Trump and MAGA Republicans
Biden also addressed Trump and the MAGA Republicans. She believes that MAGA Republicans are “trying to drive us back to a dark and dangerous past” and says that this would be a threat to democracy and reproductive rights.
The First Lady urged the audience to remember how they felt when former president Donald Trump won the election in 2016 and that we must use those feelings as motivation to “work harder than ever before, to push farther than you have in the past, to dig deep and stay strong.” “This election is going to take all of us and then together we will win,” said Biden.
