Biden Departs On Three-Day Campagin Trip To California

US President Joe Biden has departed Washington DC on a three-day fundraising trip to California. The first event on the agenda is a function at the residence of Haim Saban in Beverly Hills.

• The trip comes as Biden maintains a significant funding advantage over his presumptive 2024 opponent, former President Donald Trump, as the latter contends with the cost of his various legal bills.
• Axios reports: “Despite Democratic angst over the president's poor polling, the Biden campaign announced this morning that it raised $42 million in January — adding to his vast fundraising advantage over Trump and the RNC.”
• The New York Times notes: "Biden’s ability to raise cash — his campaign reported having $130 million in the bank over the weekend — has been a bright spot amid bleak polling numbers that show his popularity has sunk to near the lowest point in his presidency... The campaign’s success in raising money will determine how effectively the president can deliver that message to voters."
• Note: Saban founded the Center for Middle-East Policy, part of the influential Washington thinktank, the Brookings Institution, although his name is no longer associated with the center.