President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden flew separately to the Los Angeles area Friday for a fundraising swing that will include a star-studded event in Holmby Hills featuring a host of Hollywood’s elite.
According to the White House, the president will be in Los Angeles from Friday to Sunday, with fundraising activities planned Friday and Saturday nights.
Jill Biden arrived in the area first, landing early Friday afternoon at Hollywood Burbank Airport. She traveled directly to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to tour research laboratories as part of the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research. She toured the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center and Smidt Heart Institute, according to the White House.
“Research on women’s health has been underfunded for decades and many conditions that mostly and only affect women or affect women differently have received limited attention like those debilitating migraines and undiagnosed heart attacks,” Biden told a crowd of about 300 people following her tour.
She added that because of those funding gaps, “we understand far too little about these conditions and how to help the millions of women who struggle with them. And these gaps are even greater for communities that historically have been excluded from research, including women of color and women with disabilities.”
The White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research is aimed at “galvanizing the federal government and the private and philanthropic sectors to spur innovation, unleash transformative investment to close research gaps, and improve women’s health,” according to the White House.
President Joe Biden arrived at Los Angeles International Airport around 5 p.m. He quickly walked out of Air Force One and entered a military helicopter for a flight to Santa Monica, where he then entered a motorcade to attend an evening fundraiser.
Friday night’s fundraiser will take place in the Holmby Hills area. It is expected to be attended by Hollywood heavyweights including Steven Spielberg, Shonda Rhimes, Peter Chernin, Jim Gianopulos and Rob Reiner, while former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is among those expected to attend, according to multiple media reports.
Deadline reported that designer Michael Smith and former U.S. ambassador to Spain James Costos will be hosting the event, which will include a performance by Lenny Kravitz.
According to Deadline, tickets for the event began at $1,000, ranging to $3,300 and as high as $500,000. Those who contribute $25,000 or more will have access to a photo line.
The Associated Press reported that Jeffrey Katzenberg, co-founder of DreamWorks, will also host a fundraising gathering for Biden during the presidential visit.
Not surprisingly, Republican Party officials condemned Biden’s fundraising swing.
“Today, Biden will listen to the concerns of Hollywood elitists instead of ordinary Californians suffering a violent crime epidemic, increased cost of living and Gavin Newsom’s record $68 billion deficit,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Ben Petersen said in a statement. “No wonder Biden is dragging down Democrats in competitive House races.”
California Republican Party Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson said in a statement Biden’s approval level in California is a “record lows.”
“It seems even deep-blue California can’t get behind his disastrous agenda of high inflation, open borders, weak foreign policy, failing schools, and rampant crime,” Patterson said. “No amount of time spent rubbing elbows with Hollywood elites while bragging about the imaginary merits of `Bidenomics’ will change the fact that Joe Biden’s presidency is an abject failure.”
As with any presidential visit, motorists can anticipate sporadic traffic headaches as Biden moves around town, prompting temporary rolling street or freeway closures.
Presidential visits also traditionally generate protests, particularly given tensions sparked by the Israel-Hamas war. Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered Friday afternoon and evening at Holmby Park, near the planned evening fundraiser, condemning U.S. funding of Israeli military strikes in Gaza.
The Los Angeles Police Department issued a statement Thursday saying it is coordinating with the Secret Service, and “additional uniformed personnel and other resources will be deployed to ensure the highest level of public safety.”
“The department will continue to work with any protest organizers to facilitate lawful demonstrations while protecting the safety of all involved including surrounding communities,” according to the department. “Violence of any kind will not be tolerated. The Los Angeles Police Department is asking that all individuals and groups involved in protest or counter-protest activities not allow individuals who express the intent to commit violence of property (damage) to compromise the otherwise lawful demonstration.”