Analysis: 'Take the money and run': Obama, Clinton to raise campaign cash for Biden at A-list NYC event

“There’s much for Joe Biden and Democrats to gain. The presence of a respected ex-president, Barack Obama, offers a vivid contrast to Biden’s opponent, the failed former president, Donald Trump,” he added. “The money raised puts more pressure on cash-starved Republicans.”

Still, the glitzy event might not sell well among financially struggling independent voters in the handful of battleground states expected to decide the election.

“President Biden’s campaign will raise a massive amount of money on Thursday night, but the optics create political liabilities, and I expect the RNC and the Trump campaign to take advantage of that,” Cutler said. “Look for digital ads and messaging memos calling the president out of touch for hobnobbing with the rich and famous in NY, while emergency responders are still searching for bodies beneath a collapsed bridge in Baltimore.

“Republican operatives will point out that Mr. Biden is palling around with millionaires and billionaires in New York,” he added, “while inflation remains high, and the average American family is struggling to pay for gas and groceries and mortgage rates are still extremely high.”

Tickets for the Democrats’ Radio City extravaganza reportedly start at $225, a bargain compared to most presidential fundraisers. But getting a picture with the three commanders in chief will cost $100,000, with entry into exclusive receptions running between $250,000 and $500,000, according to The Associated Press.

‘High-priced lawyers’

The star-studded event is something of a culmination of several weeks that have seen Biden campaigning in the Rust Belt, Southwest and potential battleground North Carolina.

Meantime, Trump has held few public events in recent weeks, mostly opting to sound off in friendly media interviews, on his social media platform and during rants after court appearances — even boasting about spending part of last weekend allegedly again winning one of his golf club’s member tournaments.

“The trials and tribulations of Donald Trump come to a head next week when he defends himself in the Stormy Daniels porn star hush money case,” Bannon said. “Meanwhile, the president hits the campaign trail with an eye on electoral voters while Trump targets jurors. While Joe Biden raises campaign cash to reach voters, The Donald spends Republican money on high-priced lawyers.”

Still, while acknowledging both presumptive presidential nominees must hold big-dollar events like the one at Radio City, Cutler said the rich and famous will not determine whether Biden wins a second term.

“If you look at the electoral map, and current polling across swing states, Mr. Biden would be smart to spend more time in Michigan and Ohio,” he said. “Secretary [Hillary] Clinton didn’t spend enough time in Wisconsin and Michigan in 2016,” he added, a reference to Clinton losing those two states — and that election to Trump.

The same goes for Trump, who has just one campaign event on his public schedule, an April 4 rally in swing state Wisconsin’s Green Bay. Democratic officials have noticed the typically energetic 45th president’s recent light campaign load.

Trump “spent the weekend golfing, the morning comparing himself to Jesus, and the afternoon lying about having money he definitely doesn’t have,” Biden campaign spokesman James Singer said in a scathing Monday statement. “His campaign can’t raise money, he is uninterested in campaigning outside his country club, and every time he opens his mouth, he pushes moderate and suburban voters away with his dangerous agenda. America deserves better than a feeble, confused, and tired Donald Trump.”