President Biden comes to Chicago for fundraiser bringing in more than $2 million for reelection campaign

President Joe Biden returned to Chicago on Wednesday to scoop up more than $2 million for his reelection bid, sources told the Sun-Times, tapping into the deep pockets of Democratic megadonors a month after collecting some $2.5 million at another fundraiser in the city.

Biden received a standing ovation from the roughly 70 attendees when he entered an ornate room at the Palmer House Hilton.

He spoke for 13 minutes, telling the crowd he was excited to be back in Chicago and looking forward to returning again for the Democratic National Convention in August.

Although there are lower-dollar events in the pipeline, the Wednesday fundraiser at the Palmer House for the Biden Victory Fund was aimed at megadonors: a $100,000 contribution was needed to be a “host”; $50,000 to be a “champion”; and $25,000 to be listed as an “advocate.” As in most big-dollar fundraisers, major contributors also get a photo with Biden.

“People here know that the president has to be successful in the Midwest to win the election and are all-in on making that W happen,” Tamar Newberger, the Illinois chair of the Biden campaign Midwest finance council, told the Sun-Times in an email.

The co-hosts of the Wednesday reception were Jane and Bob Clark; Tom Carnahan; and Susan and Bob Wislow, according to an invitation obtained by the Sun-Times. Clark, a major backer of Biden and former President Barack Obama, is the founder of Clayco, the construction firm. Carnahan, a leader in the wind farm power industry, comes from a famous Missouri political family. Wislow, chief of Parkside Reality and a civic activist in Chicago, is a longtime Biden backer.

Biden spent most of his speech talking about former President Donald Trump, warning that another Trump presidency would set the country back.

“Asked if he thought if violence would occur if he lost, Trump said it depends,” Biden said, adding that Trump also said “it depends” on if he’d accept the results of a Biden re-election.

“Trump says when he loses again in November — that’s my phrase — if he loses again in November, there’d be a ‘bloodbath,’” Biden said. “The bad news is he means what he says. If you think I’m kidding, just look back at the sixth of January.”

The president said people shouldn’t forget about Trump’s presidency, including Trump “lying about the pandemic …and saying all you gotta do is inject a little bit of bleach into your system. I mean, for real,” Biden joked, saying Trump didn’t inject bleach into his body, instead, “he put it in his hair.”

Biden highlighted some of his accomplishments in healthcare, saying, “more people have health insurance today than ever before in the history of our country.” But the president again turned back to Trump, warning the former president is “still determined” to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and that Trump aims to cut Social Security benefits and Medicaid.

Biden also mentioned Trump’s comments about immigrants “poisoning the blood of the country,” saying he wonders what would have happened if our forefathers had the same attitude. He said Trump is the biggest threat to American democracy.

“He says the biggest threat is criminals coming across the border. Well folks, the biggest threat is the one Trump poses to our democracy,” Biden said.

Looking ahead, Biden said he wants to rid the country of gun violence and cut carbon emissions in half by 2030. He then said he’s never been more optimistic for the country’s future.

“Folks, I’m confident we’re going to do well in this election, in no small part because of all of you,” Biden said.

Biden’s speech did not mention Israel’s war on Hamas, which is devastating Gaza. Earlier, in Wisconsin, in a CNN interview, the president said he will not supply offensive weapons for Israel to use if it attacks Rafah.

But loud chants through megaphones of “Free Palestine” echoed through the Loop streets outside the Palmer House, where more than 200 people gathered to protest Biden’s support of Israel. Protesters marched from Ida B. Wells Drive and Michigan Avenue carrying a large white sign reading “Biden: Halt All Weapons Transfers Now!” to the State Street entrance of the Palmer House, where police officers blocked access to the door.

Organized by U.S. Palestinian Community Network and the Chicago chapter of the Coalition for Justice in Palestine, the protesters called on Biden to immediately stop all supply of weapons to Israel. Hatem Abudayyeh, national chair of USPCN and a spokesperson for CJP, said Biden will have only himself to blame if he loses to Trump in November.

Biden was last in Chicago on April 8, following a visit earlier in the day to must-win Wisconsin. There, he had attended both official and political events in the battleground state.

Wednesday’s flight on Air Force One from Mitchell Field in Milwaukee — the city hosting the Republican convention in July — to O’Hare took only 16 minutes — but a distance of light years in politics, with Illinois a solid blue presidential state since 1992 and Wisconsin seesawing between Democratic and GOP presidential contenders.

Biden helicoptered to the Soldier Field landing zone on Marine One, where he was greeted by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. Then, with the presidential motorcade heading to the hotel from Soldier Field, Chicago police blocked streets in the Loop, causing traffic jams. One driver told the Sun-Times it took 90 minutes to get from downtown to Hyde Park.

Also on hand at the Chicago fundraiser were Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg, who is a Biden campaign co-chair and was also with Biden in Racine, and Lee Rosenberg, a senior adviser to Gov. J.B. Pritzker who also was Pritzker’s campaign chairman.

After the fundraiser, Biden held meetings at the hotel, with no details provided. His motorcade left the Palmer House around 7 p.m.

The Palmer House has a storied political history. The hotel served as Bill Clinton’s headquarters during the 1992 primary when he won the Super Tuesday primaries and clinched the Democratic presidential nomination by winning the St. Patrick’s Day primary in Illinois.

 In 2013, Hillary Rodham Clinton, a Chicago native, held her first presidential fundraiser in her hometown in the same hotel.

Duckworth, Krishnamoorthi co-host DC fundraiser for Biden

On May 1, Illinois Democrats Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi co-hosted a fundraiser Biden headlined at a hotel in Washington targeting Asian American voters. The event was held on the first day of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and a source told the Sun-Times the event raised a total of $1.1 million.

Duckworth introduced Biden. When the president came to the podium, he said, jokingly: “My name is Joe Biden. I work for Tammy Duckworth. Folks, I want to thank Tammy for that introduction — most of all, for her friendship and her partnership. And, Raja, your partnership and leadership in the House has been invaluable.”