President Biden’s reelection campaign took aim at former President Trump on Friday for the attendee lineup at his exclusive fundraiser in Palm Beach, Fla., scheduled for this weekend.
Trump is set to surpass Biden’s $26 million fundraiser in New York City last week with an upcoming event hosted by hedge fund founder John Paulson. The event, scheduled for Saturday, is projected to raise an impressive $33 million.
The Biden campaign initially released a statement to The Hill, highlighting the attendees expected to criticize Trump’s fundraising strategy, which relies on billionaires known for targeting programs like Social Security.
According to Sarafina Chitika, a senior spokesperson for the Biden campaign, the dinner guest list for Donald Trump’s second term reveals the kind of people he will fight for. Chitika claims that among the attendees are tax cheats, scammers, racists, and extremists.
“Let’s not underestimate the fact that Donald Trump will prioritize the interests of his billionaire acquaintances over the well-being of the American people. He will gladly accept their contributions and implement policies that benefit them, such as tax cuts. Unfortunately, this approach will leave hardworking Americans behind, as their jobs are outsourced, Social Security and Medicare are compromised, health care protections are stripped away, and access to abortion is restricted,” she emphasized.
The Biden campaign highlighted Paulson, who Trump has reportedly considered for Treasury Secretary if he wins. During a 2018 New York University panel, Paulson expressed the belief that Social Security could be transitioned from a defined benefit to a defined contribution system.
Jeff Yass, a billionaire businessman and major investor in TikTok, was singled out as an anticipated attendee who had proposed the privatization of Social Security accounts in a 2019 opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal.
Protecting Social Security has been a top priority for Biden, particularly in light of recent remarks made by Trump during a CNBC interview. Trump suggested that there are potential opportunities for cutting entitlements, which has further emphasized the need to safeguard Social Security.
Moreover, the campaign highlighted the presence of Michael Hodges, the founder of a payday lender, who allegedly informed other payday lenders in 2019 that making contributions to Trump’s 2020 campaign could result in gaining access to the administration at that time, as reported by The Washington Post. The campaign also drew attention to the fact that members of the Mercer family have made donations to Trump, and hedge fund manager Robert Mercer has expressed the view that the Civil Rights Act was a mistake, as stated in The New Yorker.
The Biden campaign also highlighted the presence of John Catsimatidis at the dinner. Catsimatidis, a billionaire who ran for New York City mayor in 2013, made a controversial statement comparing former President Obama’s plans to raise taxes on the wealthy to Hitler’s treatment of the Jews, as reported by Newsweek.
According to The Hill, the Biden campaign claims that Trump’s grassroots fundraising, which has traditionally been a strong point for him in previous campaigns, has experienced a slowdown. In contrast, the Biden campaign reported that it had its most successful month of grassroots fundraising in March, surpassing its previous record for small-dollar donations for the fifth month in a row.
