George Clooney and Julia Roberts are helping President Biden's election campaign

2024-06-16 21:00:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

George Clooney and Julia Roberts are helping President Biden's election

Some of Hollywood's biggest stars took center stage at a dinner party for President Joe Biden's campaign on Saturday. More than $30 million was raised, according to campaign officials, fueling hopes of a voter turnout in a November election they say is the most important in the nation's history.

George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Barbra Streisand were among the big names who took to the stage at the 7,100-seat Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Late night host Jimmy Kimmel interviewed President Biden and former President Barack Obama, who stressed the need to win the election against former President Donald Trump in what is expected to be a very close election race.

During a discussion that lasted more than half an hour, Mr. Kimmel asked whether the country was suffering from amnesia about the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. To this question, President Biden answered that "what we need to do is to remember how things were" when former President Trump was in the White House.

Former President Trump spent Saturday campaigning in Detroit and criticized President Biden's handling of the economy and inflation. The president was fundraising for the campaign "with elite names from the Hollywood scene who are disconnected from reality," said former President Trump's campaign spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt.

But when asked by Mr. Kimmel what achievement he would be most proud of, President Biden said his administration's approach to the economy "works."

"We have the strongest economy in the world today," said President Biden, adding that "we're trying to give ordinary people an equal chance."

During a previous fundraiser in March in New York, about $26 million was raised for President Biden's campaign. The event was attended by host Stephen Colbert, who interviewed President Biden and former Presidents Obama and Clinton.

Although President Biden had an earlier start, former President Trump has gained ground as he managed to be one step closer to securing the official nomination for president on behalf of the Republican Party.

Former President Trump managed to raise more funds than President Biden's event in New York, reaching an estimated $50.5 million in contributions in April during a meeting with major donors at the Florida mansion of billionaire investor John Paulson. His campaign team and the Republican National Committee announced that they collected $141 million in contributions during the month of May, tens of millions of which were collected after former President Trump was found guilty in a criminal trial in New York./ VOA