Biden Attends New York Fundraisers for Cash to Fight Trump

Justin Sink and Jennifer Jacobs
·3 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden will attend a trio of fundraisers hosted by New York doctors and financiers, including Tiger 21’s Michael Sonnenfeldt and Willett Advisors LLC Chief Executive Officer Steve Rattner, as the president seeks to extend his cash advantage over Republican rival Donald Trump.

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Biden’s dash for cash on Wednesday also includes a climate-focused event hosted by former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. managing director Lawrence Linden, along with his wife, Dana Linden, a journalist and philanthropist who works on Israeli issues.

Donors expected to attend the Lindens’ event include Bain Capital’s Josh Bekenstein, who is on the board of Yale University; Dan Tishman, who oversaw the construction of One World Trade Center; Reuben Munger of Vision Ridge Partners LLC; Mark Gallogly, who has worked with the Biden administration on climate policy; and David Elenowitz of Zero Carbon Partners LLC, according to a person familiar with the event.

Biden’s second event of the day will be hosted by Ramon Tallaj, a doctor on New York City Mayor Eric Adams’s Covid-19 recovery task force who is chair of the nonprofit SOMOS Community Care. That event will be co-hosted by his wife, Ines Hernández Tallaj, according to information about the fundraisers obtained by Bloomberg. New York Governor Kathy Hochul, Representative Gregory Meeks and Nikul Patel of JPMorgan are among those expected to attend, according to a person familiar with the event.

Rattner’s wife, prominent Democratic fundraiser and foreign policy expert Maureen White, will also be at the fundraiser. Rattner’s Willett Advisors invests Michael Bloomberg’s personal and philanthropic assets. Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.

Sonnenfeldt’s Tiger 21 describes itself on its website as “a peer advisory organization for wealth creators to learn and reflect upon investing, life and family.”

The fundraisers, which will largely be held during the afternoon but are expected to bleed into rush-hour traffic, come after the president’s reelection campaign raised $97 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 and reported $117 million cash on hand.

Earlier: Biden Campaign Raised $97 Million, Has Record Levels of Cash

The president has attended a series of high-dollar fundraisers recently, including a trip last week to Miami and Palm Beach. He posted his best fundraising month — since the launch of his reelection bid — in January, according to a campaign official.

“It’s a testament to our strong grassroots program and that our coalition is mobilized around the stakes of this election,” Biden deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty said in a statement.

The Biden campaign is hoping that a cash edge can help the president overcome polls that show him consistently trailing Trump, who is closing in on the Republican nomination. The former president led Biden 48% to 42% in a Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll of voters in seven swing states released last week.

Earlier: Swing-State Voters Blame Biden for Migrant Surge at the Border

Trump reported raising $19 million in the fourth quarter and started the election year with $33 million cash on hand. Trump has had to spend more aggressively to fend off challenges from other Republican candidates, including former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who has also seen a flood of Wall Street support.

Biden is expected back in New York next month for an event with former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. The March 28 discussion, which may be held at Radio City Music Hall, according to NBC News, will be a fundraiser for the reelection effort.

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