First Lady Jill Biden delivers remarks at Atherton fundraiser during APEC week

ATHERTON — As world leaders descended on the Bay Area this week for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in San Francisco, First Lady Jill Biden took the opportunity Wednesday to campaign for her husband ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

At stake, Biden stressed: voters’ rights and the country’s democracy.

While at the Atherton home of philanthropists Doug and Lisa Goldman, the First Lady addressed a crowd of about 90 attendees for a “Biden Victory Fund” fundraiser that was also co-hosted by former state Controller Steve Westly and his wife Anita Yu Westly. Tickets for the private afternoon reception where Biden lauded the accomplishments of her husband President Joe Biden — namely passing the “boldest climate change legislation in American history,” appointing Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court and battling Big Pharma — ran from $250 to $10,000.

“He’s brought people from both sides of the aisle together to find common ground, which so many people said was impossible,” she said. “And of course, he’s restored America’s leadership on the world stage.”

APEC’S forum this week — attended by the president — was the largest gathering in the city of heads of state and dignitaries since the founding of the United Nations in 1945. The 21 APEC countries make up nearly 40% of the world’s population and account for nearly half of the global trade, according to the cooperation.

The economic summit, which also brought Vice President Kamala Harris, Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff and California Gov. Gavin Newsom to town, has become an opportune time for top Democrats to raise campaign cash for the 2024 election. Silicon Valley has traditionally been a cash cow for Democrats looking for financial backing.

During her brief remarks, which lasted roughly 12 minutes, Biden pondered on the threat of “what’s in store if the extreme MAGA Republicans return to power,” reflecting on “late-night Tweet storms” from former Republican President Donald Trump — the leading GOP candidate — and “chaotic leadership lurching us from crisis to crisis.”

The First Lady asked the small crowd, which huddled under a white tent and ominously cloudy skies to think about “what it felt like on the morning after the 2016 election.” Attendees groaned and whispered quietly among themselves about Nov. 9, 2016.

“Take yourself back,” she said. “We fell short. Remember that feeling? Remember how you woke up and you said to yourself ‘oh my god what just happened?”‘

Biden also touched on the Israel-Hamas war, saying that “when Hamas attacked Israel, Joe knew what to do.” She said she “wouldn’t wish the tragic events of this last month on any American president, but I’m so grateful that Joe is our president during these uncertain, unpredictable and tumultuous times.”

APEC has drawn thousands of protestors to San Francisco this week who have been speaking out on a range of issues from climate change to LGBTQ equality. But a large number of demonstrators have been focused on the conflict in Israel and Palestine, demanding President Biden and other U.S. leaders call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Menlo College Political Science Professor Melissa Michelson said the issue has made things “a bit more complicated for Democrats” trying to raise money for President Biden.

“For Democratic elected officials and Democratic candidates who are here for the meeting, this puts them in a tricky situation,” she said. “They have to respond to the protestors so they have to speak to the concerns about the Palestinians, but they also have to not upset their donor base who are not the folks who are protesting, but are the ones who are on the other side of the issue.”

On Tuesday night, President Biden, Harris and Newsom attended a campaign event at the Merchants Exchange Building in San Francisco hosted by real estate mogul and political consultant Clint Reilly.

In his remarks, the president praised the party for its victories in last week’s elections in states like Kentucky, Virginia and Ohio, highlighting the Buckeye State’s decision to solidify protections for abortion. He also lambasted Trump, for his recent political rhetoric and jokes about Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, being attacked last year.

“Donald Trump and the extreme — extreme MAGA Republicans are determined to destroy American democracy,” President Biden said. “Folks, democracy is on the ballot again. We need you.  Indeed, we need every American who loves our democracy — Democrats, independents, Republicans — to join together in 2024.”