President Joe Biden is headed to California in a three-day campaign fundraising tour, with plans to make stops in San Francisco and the ritzy South Bay enclave of Los Altos Hills.
The president will land in San Francisco on Wednesday after departing from Culver City near Los Angeles—and then travel to Silicon Valley on Thursday before returning home to Washington, D.C.
Biden is scheduled to attend two events in San Francisco: an afternoon campaign reception and another evening event, according to his schedule. He is scheduled to arrive at San Francisco International Airport shortly after 3 p.m. Wednesday and take a helicopter to Marina Green.
According to media reports, businessman Gordon Getty and real estate magnate couple George and Judy Marcus are hosting a dinner on Wednesday, an event whose guest list includes Rep. Nancy Pelosi. The dinner's location was not immediately available.
Someone important is in the neighborhood.
— Ethan Mann (@EthanMannCRE) February 19, 2024
Helicopters landing on the Marina Green in San Francisco. pic.twitter.com/qtKmoBbSu2
This week's trip to Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area will mark Biden's third visit to California in just over two months for political events. He's trying to make up for lost time after largely avoiding the Democratic donor stronghold during last year's strikes by the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA.
Biden's visit to the city during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November saw thousands of activists protesting against the president's pro-Israel stance in response to the conflict in Gaza. The Palestinian Youth Movement, the Party for Socialism & Liberation and other activists are planning a protest at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Alta Plaza Park in Pacific Heights.
Going into the trip, Biden's campaign and the Democratic National Committee announced Tuesday that they had collected $42 million in contributions during January from 422,000 donors. Biden ended January with $130 million in cash on hand. Campaign officials said that is the highest total amassed by any Democratic candidate at this point in the cycle.
Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez called the haul “an indisputable show of strength to start the election year.”
“While Team Biden-Harris continues to build on its fundraising machine, Republicans are divided—either spending money fighting Donald Trump, or spending money in support of Donald Trump’s extreme and losing agenda,” she said.
The figures suggest Biden is cementing an early cash advantage over Trump, his likely general election opponent. But the numbers still lag what Trump had amassed during a similar period in 2020, when his campaign routinely smashed fundraising records.
The Biden campaign launched digital ads last week in three battleground states—Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania—criticizing Trump for his threat to NATO countries. Biden has also railed against House Republicans for blocking a $95 billion foreign aid bill that includes $60 billion in funding for Ukraine's war with Russia.