President Biden and his campaign are in “full-throttle” mode when it comes to raising money for the presidential campaign. The Biden Victory Fund raised $70 million last quarter and currently has $37 million cash on hand. This financial support comes from thousands of donors who are confident that U.S. President Joe Biden will reach is final target – to be re-elected. Some very prominent names and figures have joined the list of donors in past months, and this trend is expected to continue in coming period as Biden is expected to face the Republican front-runner former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Some prominent public figures on Biden’s donor list
Big names in Hollywood and super rich folks have been generously backing President Biden’s campaign for a second term by giving a lot of money to his campaign fund, according to recent reports. In the last few months of the year, some rich supporters gave really big amounts of money to the Biden Victory Fund. This fund is a big team effort that includes Biden’s campaign, the Democratic National Committee, Democratic parties in all states, and the Democratic committee in Washington, D.C.
Rich people can donate a huge amount, up to $929,600, to this fund during the election period. This way of fundraising, where a bunch of groups team up to collect money, is something both political sides do a very frequently nowadays. This lets people give more money to one place, and then that money gets shared among the groups working together on the matter.
At the end of the year, the fund’s records showed that famous director Steven Spielberg and his wife, Kate Capshaw, each gave the biggest possible donation of $929,600. Biden has been asking for support from Hollywood’s rich and famous, even holding a big fundraising event in the heart of California hosted by Spielberg and his wife.
Billionaire George Soros also supported Biden with a lot of money, adding $653,000 to his donation of $250,000 from before, making his total $903,000. This puts him very close to giving the maximum amount allowed to this fundraising effort.
Movie maker J.J. Abrams and ex-leader of Alphabet, Eric Schmidt, who was a big part of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign efforts, each gave $500,000.
The Biden Victory Fund got $70 million in the last three months and now has $37 million ready to use.
Previous donations
In the quarter before, other very wealthy people had also given a lot of money to support Biden’s fundraising efforts.
Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Steve Jobs, gave the biggest possible amount of $929,000 to the fund in September.
At the same time, the fund got the largest donations allowed, $929,600, from several big names. These included sports leader Casey Wasserman, casino boss Neil Bluhm, property bigwig Kurt Rappaport, businessman Haim Saban, and charity giver Ellen Bronfman Hauptman.
The campaign in Michigan so far
In Michigan, President Joe Biden appears to be strengthening his position among working-class Americans, a key demographic for his reelection bid. This is evidenced by the endorsement from Shawn Fain, the President of the United Auto Workers (UAW), who cited Biden’s commitment to American workers and his support during the UAW’s strike last fall as primary reasons for the endorsement.
Biden’s efforts to secure the support from the UAW, a union with 400,000 members, underscores his priorities towards American workers and could significantly impact his standing in Michigan, a state known for its substantial number of car factory workers and which has swung between Democratic and Republican candidates in recent elections.
On the other hand, former President Donald Trump, who is vying for the Republican nomination against Nikki Haley, has been critical of the UAW’s endorsement of Biden, reflecting a contentious battle for the support of American workers in Michigan.
Trump’s disparaging comments about the UAW and its leadership, as well as his attempts to court the Teamsters Union, signal his intent to rally union support despite the backlash. However, his criticism of the UAW and its decision to endorse Biden, coupled with his approach to labor unions, may jeopardize his appeal among working-class voters in Michigan, a state pivotal to his previous electoral success but lost to Biden in 2020.