$7.8M in-person haul for Biden since March

POTOMAC, MD. — President Joe Biden’s motorcade sped through the evening rush hour-choked streets of Washington earlier this week bound for Maryland Rep. David Trone’s spacious estate close to the Potomac River.

Speaking for 14 minutes near a backyard pool amid the smell of barbeque, Biden told about 140 people gathered that it’s important for Democrats to “communicate what we mean.” He praised the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package, noted the federal deficit and unemployment were falling while lambasting Republicans as extremists. He also predicted — perhaps fancifully given his sagging approval ratings — that Democrats might pick up a whopping four Senate seats during November’s midterm elections.

But the real purpose of the president’s appearance was to raise what might be more necessary than anything else to help his party get out its message: campaign cash.

Biden has taken in $7.8 million for Democrats by attending five in-person fundraisers since March, according to figures the Democratic National Committee provided to The Associated Press. That includes the $2 million he picked up in Maryland along with another $1 million he pulled in two days later when he swung through a Marriott ballroom in Chicago’s South Loop to address about 50 people.

The DNC released information about the amounts raised and number of attendees for each event after inquires from the AP about why such figures hadn’t been previously disclosed to pools of journalists traveling to fundraisers with the president — as prior administrations have typically done.

Other fundraisers include a Washington event that took in $3 million and featured an intimate audience of around 20. During a West Coast swing last month, Biden attended a larger gathering that included supporters from the 2020 campaign in Portland, Oregon, of about 110 people and raised $300,000-plus. Around 30 people were at a more traditional event in Seattle, where the committee raised nearly five times that, or around $1.5 million.

After largely skipping in-person events due to the coronavirus pandemic, the DNC said Biden plans to step up his fundraising schedule ahead of November, when Republicans are hoping that wins around the U.S. can put them back in control of Congress.

“As President Biden’s in-person fundraising events continue to increase heading into the midterm elections, the DNC will begin releasing additional information on President Biden’s fundraising events,” committee spokesman Daniel Wessel said in a statement.