Biden is spreading some wild claims about Trump.
President Biden’s reelection campaign took aim at former President Trump’s forthcoming high-dollar fundraiser in Palm Beach, Florida, slated for this weekend, criticizing the composition of the guest list. Trump’s objective with the event, hosted by hedge fund luminary John Paulson on Saturday, is to surpass Biden’s recent $26 million fundraiser in New York City, aiming for a projected $33 million haul.
In a statement exclusively shared with The Hill, the Biden campaign honed in on the expected attendees, lambasting Trump’s fundraising tactics that appear to court billionaires with controversial stances, particularly regarding programs such as Social Security.
Senior spokesperson for the Biden campaign, Sarafina Chitika, remarked, “The guest list for Donald Trump’s dinner party speaks volumes about his priorities for a potential second term – cozying up to tax evaders, fraudsters, racists, and extremists.”
Chitika continued, “It’s abundantly clear that Donald Trump would prioritize the interests of his billionaire cohorts over the welfare of the American people. He’s inclined to cash their checks, slash their taxes, and forsake hardworking Americans, outsourcing their jobs, dismantling Social Security and Medicare, rolling back healthcare protections, and advocating for draconian abortion bans.”
The Biden campaign singled out John Paulson, reportedly under consideration by Trump for Treasury Secretary in the event of reelection, highlighting his past remarks suggesting a shift of Social Security to a defined contribution system.
Another expected attendee, billionaire entrepreneur Jeff Yass, drew scrutiny for his previous advocacy of privatizing Social Security, as detailed in a Wall Street Journal op-ed from 2019.
Given Biden’s staunch commitment to safeguarding Social Security, intensified after Trump hinted at potential entitlement cuts in a recent CNBC interview, the contrast between the two candidates’ approaches to economic policy couldn’t be starker.
Further scrutiny was directed towards Michael Hodges, founder of a payday lending company, who allegedly indicated in 2019 that donations to Trump’s campaign could facilitate access to his administration, as reported by The Washington Post.
Moreover, the Biden campaign underscored Trump donors from the Mercer family, with hedge fund manager Robert Mercer’s controversial assertion that the Civil Rights Act was a misguided policy, as documented by The New Yorker.
Among the expected guests, John Catsimatidis, a billionaire and former New York City mayoral candidate, drew condemnation for likening former President Obama’s tax proposals in 2013 to Hitler’s treatment of Jews, as recounted by Newsweek.
The Biden campaign contrasted Trump’s fundraising momentum, which appears to have waned in grassroots support, with their own robust performance in small-dollar donations, breaking records for five consecutive months, culminating in a particularly successful March.
