The campaign has billed it the “most successful political fundraiser in American history.” By Mr. Biden’s recent standards, that is true. For example, during a swing through Texas earlier this month, the Biden campaign raised a combined $7 million from three separate fundraisers. A fundraiser for Biden in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Tuesday raised $2.3 million.
Mr. Biden’s largest single-day haul prior to Thursday came in the 24 hours after his State of the Union address earlier in March, when he raised $10 million, according to his campaign.
But Thursday’s staggering sum is a new record for the campaign, and it further illustrates the growing cash gap between Mr. Biden and his presumptive general election opponent, former President Donald Trump.
Trump raised $20 million in the whole month of February and $8.8 million in January. He’s also been dogged by legal bills and payments, with his campaign and the political action committees supporting him spending over $10 million in legal fees this year.
Biden’s campaign committees have more than double the cash on hand of Trump’s equivalent groups, $155 million for Biden and $74 million for Trump as of late March.
“Unlike our opponent, every dollar we’re raising is going to reach the voters who will decide this election — communicating the President’s historic record, his vision for the future and laying plain the stakes of this election,” said Biden-Harris campaign co-chair and Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg.
Trump’s campaign sent out two fundraising emails Wednesday mentioning Mr. Biden’s Thursday fundraiser, with one calling on “one million Trump supporters to donate to beat the “Obama-Clinton cartel” and the other reading, “We can’t lose to Obama!”
Thursday’s New York City fundraiser at Radio City Music Hall will be hosted by actress Mindy Kaling and will feature performances by several musical guests and artists, including Queen Latifah, Lizzo, Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo and Lea Michele. The event will end with a discussion between Mr. Biden, Obama and Clinton moderated by “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert.
More than 5,000 tickets have been sold for the fundraiser.