Everyone who runs for president claims to be looking out for the little guy and accuses their opponent of being beholden to the super-wealthy. Democrats in particular have an instinctual reaction to claim that any tax cut proposed by the Republican Party is a tax cut for the rich. It's one of those talking points that never seems to go out of style in Democratic circles, and it never seems to die despite being debunked over and over.
Naturally, Joe Biden is making the same pitch again this year, but if Democrat voters believed it before, they're not believing it now. Political experts are saying that the Biden campaign's reliance on extravagant, star-studded fundraisers that can cost thousands of dollars to attend and offer photo opportunities with Democratic presidents for a price higher than the national average income is alienating the very voters he claims to care about.
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For example, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently organized a Broadway fundraiser for Joe Biden. Tickets for the event ranged from $500 to $5,000, with proceeds benefiting the Biden Victory Fund and Women’s Leadership Forum. This event took place mere days after Biden's star-studded New York fundraiser, which brought in $26 million. Meanwhile, former President Trump has largely focused on small donor fundraising and has attended fewer extravagant gatherings. Further creating a stark contrast between the two candidates is that the same day Joe Biden was hobnobbing with celebrities at his glitzy fundraiser, Donald Trump attended the wake of New York City Police Department Officer Jonathan Diller, who was killed while on duty by a career criminal.
According to political experts, this discrepancy could be concerning to average voters who are already disillusioned with Biden.
"It's tone deaf," Noelle Nikpour, a GOP fundraiser and strategist, told Fox News Digital. "It's like when Obama told you you better conserve money while he was spending our nation's money right and left. So, it's like he's trying to convince and all the celebrities are trying to convince and really appeal to their base, saying that we've got to stamp out Donald Trump."
Nikpour continued, "If you've noticed, … the argument is that 'We've got to stamp out Donald Trump. We can't have him again. We're going to focus on gender issues or abortion.' They don't really hard-press the economy that much because they realize it's not reality. With interest rates the way they're sitting, rent, mortgages, groceries, restaurant costs, going out and having a drink — everything is high. So, if you notice, they don't really press our economy versus his economy. They're really going back to their old playbook, which is social issues."
Based on a recent analysis of FEC records, 35% of Biden's 2024 re-election campaign funds originate from big donors, which are defined as contributions over $2,000. Conversely, only 38% of his donations are from small donors, defined as those giving between $1 and $200. In contrast, the Trump campaign has raised a significant 61% of its donations from small donors, with a mere 9% coming from big donors.
Trump did have a fundraiser in Palm Beach, Fla., last week that brought in nearly double the donations of the Biden fundraiser, but that doesn't change the fact that Biden is the candidate who is relying on donations from the super-wealthy, while grassroots donors aren't opening their wallets for him.
"I think that the Republican brand overall is changing a little bit," Nikpour said. "While we still have wealthy donors and wealthy people that are attracted to the party, the fact that we're not really seeing the country club party anymore is because so many working men and women are gravitating towards our party because they like what our platform represents, which is low taxes, less regulation, which affect their pocketbooks."
