Obama and Bill Clinton will join Biden at event with artists to raise $25 million

US President Joe Biden will receive support from Democratic predecessors Barack Obama and Bill Clinton this Thursday at a fundraising event in New York, scheduled to raise more than 25 million dollars and give more strength to Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign.

Biden and the two former presidents will participate in a discussion moderated by “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert at Radio City Music Hall in front of thousands of guests, in what Biden’s re-election campaign said would be a political fundraiser most successful resource company in history.

Musicians Queen Latifah, Lizzo, Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo and Lea Michele are scheduled to perform, and some high-earning attendees will have their photos with the three taken by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz.

Biden, 81, has faced concerns about his age and fitness for a second four-year term. Recent Reuters/Ipsos polls show his approval rating at 40% and a tight race with Republican challenger Donald Trump, who is 77, ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

Tickets for Thursday’s event cost between $250 and $500,000, according to a Democrat familiar with the event. More than 5,000 people are expected. The event will not be televised, but the campaign plans to post content from it on social media. Small-dollar donors can pay $25 to attend a virtual event with the three politicians.

Biden has visited every key battleground state since his fiery State of the Union address earlier this month, but has mostly spoken to much smaller audiences, part of a deliberate strategy to emphasize interactions with ordinary Americans. Vice President Kamala Harris has also been crisscrossing the country.

The show of support from Obama, who is still extremely popular among Democrats, could boost enthusiasm among some young voters and other progressives who voted for Biden in 2020 but are furious about his staunch support for Israel in response to Hamas attacks in October 7th.

“The numbers don’t lie: Today’s event is a huge show of force and a true reflection of the momentum to re-elect the Biden-Harris ticket,” campaign co-chair Jeffrey Katzenberg said in a statement.

Biden’s re-election effort raised more than $53 million in February and $10 million in the 24 hours following his speech to Congress on March 7. Biden has routinely outperformed Trump.

Obama expressed to Biden his concerns that Trump could win, ahead of a change in Biden’s team that sent two top White House aides to the Wilmington, Delaware-based campaign.

Trump used Biden’s event with Obama and Clinton to appeal to his own supporters as well. “The Obama-Clinton cartel thinks they will defeat us tomorrow, but I have something they will NEVER have,” he said in a fundraising appeal Wednesday, referring to his supporters.