President Barack Obama taped an appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in Burbank and spoke at a pair of Democratic National Committee fundraisers in Hancock Park, criticizing the tenor of the campaign to succeed him.
During his appearance on the “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” Thursday, Obama criticized what he called the Instagram culture, “We expect quick answers without sacrifice,” complained about politics that demonizes the other side and “factually incorrect news.”
The episode will air Friday.
Obama then flew from Burbank on Marine One, the presidential helicopter, to Los Angeles High School.
Obama then traveled by motorcade to the Hancock Park home of entertainment lawyer Aaron Rosenberg and Danny Rose, a producer of the CBS drama “Scorpion,” for a reception, concert and fundraiser for about 340 people.
Tickets ranged from $1,000 per person to as high as $33,400 per couple, which included prime seating and admission to a reception with a presidential photo line. Some of the money went to the Democratic Hope Fund, which helps retire Obama’s campaign debt.
Obama began a nearly 20-minute speech by telling the crowd he keeps a checklist in his desk of campaign promises he made.
“We haven’t gotten 100 percent of what I wanted to get done, but we got about 80,” Obama said.
“We have made progress. The country is indisputably better off now than it was.”
However, there is still work to be done, citing Los Angeles’ needs.
“Right now as we speak, there are children in this city who have no place to sleep,” Obama said. “There’s still millions of people that don’t have health insurance.”
Obama cited climate change, health insurance and lesbian and gay rights as areas where there was still work to be done.
Obama spoke again about the unpredictable forces in the current election.
“You’re seeing in our election cycle a lot of the anger and frustration,” Obama said. “Some of it is manufactured for political purposes, some of it is hype. But the frustrations are there, and they are real.
“There are people who afraid. They watch the evening news, what’s happening in Syria and other troubled parts of the world.
“Fear, if not unaddressed, if not channeled, can result in some pretty ugly politics. It has never been more important for us as citizens to fight against that fear.”
The fundraiser also included John Legend singing his hit “All of Me.”
Obama’s second fundraiser of the night, also in Hancock Park, was what was described by the Democratic National Committee as a “discussion and dinner,” with tickets costing $10,000 per person.
Obama repeated what he had said earlier in the day.
The fundraisers were the 38th and 39th Obama has attended in Los Angeles County as president. He has taken part in fundraisers during 21 of his 24 visits to Los Angeles and Orange counties as president.
Air Force One touched down at Los Angeles International Airport around 3:30 p.m. Obama jogged down the stairs to the Tarmac and quickly boarded the Marine One helicopter for a flight to Burbank, where he was driven to Warner Bros. Studios for the “Ellen” taping.
The president will remain in Los Angeles overnight, according to the White House. He is scheduled to fly to Palm Springs on Friday in advance of a summit of Asian leaders on Monday and Tuesday, which the president will host at Sunnylands resort in Rancho Mirage.
Obama will be joined by Secretary of State John Kerry at Sunnylands for the gathering of leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The summit is aimed at strengthening the new U.S.-ASEAN strategic partnership, forged last November during a presidential trip to Malaysia.
—City News Service