NEW YORK, March 28 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden and his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, headlined a star-studded fundraiser with former President Bill Clinton on Thursday, offering a robust defense of the White House's handling of the Gaza crisis as protesters interrupted the event.Do you agree with Obama that decisions in the White House cannot be made with "a certain purity", in regards to how the US arms Israel and claims that Israel meets its burden in terms of how much humanitarian aid they allow to go into Gaza?
Biden, who traveled with Obama on Air Force One to New York, took part in a discussion with Clinton moderated by "The Late Show" host Stephen Colbert at the iconic Radio City Music Hall in front of thousands of guests. Organizers say the event raised more than $25 million for Biden's U.S. reelection campaign.
But the fundraiser was punctuated by several protests inside the massive auditorium, with attendees rising at several different moments to shout over the discussion, referencing Biden's backing of Israel in the Hamas war that has killed more than 30,000 people in Gaza.
"Shame on you, Joe Biden!" one yelled.
Obama and Clinton offered a presidential perspective of the Gaza crisis that stressed the political realities of being in the White House. A president needs to be able to support Israel at the same time as fighting for Palestinians to have more access to food, medical supplies and a future state, they said.
"It's a lonely seat," Obama said. One of the realities of the presidency is that the world has a lot of joy and beauty, but it also has a lot of tragedy and cruelty."
People "understandably, oftentimes, want to feel a certain purity in terms of how those decisions are made," he said. "But a president doesn't have that luxury."
When a protestor inside the theater interrupted Obama, the former president snapped back: You cant just talk and not listen...Thats what the other side does."
Before the event, the three leaders' motorcade passed hundreds of protesters demonstrating against Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza, another sign that some young voters and other progressives who voted for Biden in 2020 are furious about his staunch backing of Israel in its response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.
The event closed with each of the men donning aviator sunglasses, Bidens trademark.
Dark Brandon is real, Biden bellowed, referencing a meme about himself.
Before the event, the three leaders' motorcade passed hundreds of protesters demonstrating against Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza, another sign that some young voters and other progressives who voted for Biden in 2020 are furious about his staunch backing of Israel in its response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.
That's something I've liked about Biden. Enough of a sense of humor to take an online joke and run with it. Trump would've had a 20 tweet rant against it.Trump embraced a ton of (bad) memes getting elected
Trump embraced a ton of (bad) memes getting electedNot intentionally
Oh no, these people who never vote to begin with are going to not vote even harder this time around.https://circle.tufts.edu/latest-research/election-week-2020
Oh no, these people who never vote to begin with are going to not vote even harder this time around.So you think people who go through the trouble of protesting wouldn't bother voting if they thought it made a difference?
Obama and Clinton offered a presidential perspective of the Gaza crisis that stressed the political realities of being in the White House. A president needs to be able to support Israel at the same time as fighting for Palestinians to have more access to food, medical supplies and a future state, they said.God, I miss Obama.
"It's a lonely seat," Obama said. One of the realities of the presidency is that the world has a lot of joy and beauty, but it also has a lot of tragedy and cruelty."
People "understandably, oftentimes, want to feel a certain purity in terms of how those decisions are made," he said. "But a president doesn't have that luxury."
When a protestor inside the theater interrupted Obama, the former president snapped back: You cant just talk and not listen...Thats what the other side does."
So you think people who go through the trouble of protesting wouldn't bother voting if they thought it made a difference?
These particular group of individuals never liked Biden, didnt vote for him in 2020 and were never gonna vote for him in 2024. Even if Biden immediately did everything they wanted when it came to the Gaza crisis, they would just move the goalposts and start shrieking about the next thing theyre outraged at about him. The Biden campaign knows this, and that is why they are not paying any attention to them.What do you mean by "these particular group of individuals" and how are you so confident in your assessment of their voting habits?
These particular group of individuals never liked Biden, didnt vote for him in 2020 and were never gonna vote for him in 2024. Even if Biden immediately did everything they wanted when it came to the Gaza crisis, they would just move the goalposts and start shrieking about the next thing theyre outraged at about him. The Biden campaign knows this, and that is why they are not paying any attention to them.How do you figure that anybody demonstrating for their country to stop abetting a genocide is a politically inactive outrage tourist? What was the previous goalpost demonstration shrieking that transferred into these ones in October? That's a rhetorical question, by the way.
How do you figure that anybody demonstrating for their country to stop abetting a genocide is a politically inactive outrage tourist? What was the previous goalpost demonstration shrieking that transferred into these ones in October? That's a rhetorical question, by the way.