NEWS AND OPINION:
Pay attention, now. The reelection campaign of President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris has revealed that it raised more than $187 million in the first quarter of 2024, including more than $90 million in March alone.
“This historic fundraising operation continues to break monthly grassroots fundraising records through the first three months of 2024 — an indication of enthusiasm, strength, and Team Biden-Harris’ historic resources heading into the general election. This first quarter raise is nearly double the unprecedented 2023 fourth-quarter haul of $97 million,” the campaign said in a written statement shared with Inside the Beltway.
The team is also reporting that 1.6 million people have contributed to the campaign so far. That campaign now has $192 million in cash on hand — described as “the highest total amassed by any Democratic candidate in history at this point in the cycle.”
“Team Biden-Harris’ cash on hand has increased each of the four reporting periods since the president launched his reelection. What that means is that as Team Biden-Harris grows its operation, it continues to also grow its war chest,” the campaign statement said.
There’s more to think about.
“Thanks to historic fundraising, like we saw this quarter, we have been able to expand our work on the ground in states so that we can connect more and more with the voters who are powering this campaign and who will turn out in November to reject Trump and MAGA extremists,” said Jaime Harrison, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, also in a written statement.
And the campaign’s plans for the political purse? The funds will go to more than 100 coordinated campaign offices and hundreds of staffers in battleground states. The campaign also promises the funds are aimed at “training and reaching supporters across the country with new organizing tactics.”
That includes a $30 million, six-week paid media campaign targeting voters who will “decide this election,” the campaign said — including ad buys targeting Hispanic, Black and Asian American and Pacific Islander voters, and those who support former Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley.
MEANWHILE IN HOLLYWOOD
A new political movie opens April 12, and it has a noteworthy title: “Civil War.”
The film is described as “a journey across a dystopian future America, following a team of military-embedded journalists as they race against time to reach Washington, D.C. before rebel factions descend upon the White House,” according to Internet Movie Database.
And of course the increasing buzz in the media about the upcoming film has a reference to former President Donald Trump.
“Nick Offerman plays the president in the dystopian action film Civil War, but although some liken his character to Donald Trump, the actor didn’t think about him during filming,” according to Deadline.com, an industry source for all things Hollywood.
“Honestly, no,” Mr. Offerman told the publication.
“When you see the movie, it’s so unattached to anything in modern politics, not only in our country but any country. It’s like doing a play where I’m playing a baseball player, and people say, ‘Did you ever think of your favorite team, the Cubs?’ And I say, ‘No, it’s a brilliant piece of fiction,’” Mr. Offerman said.
“With the presidential election heating up this year, Offerman revealed that some of his friends ‘have mistakenly suggested’ that he and his wife, Megan Mullally, should make a run for office. Offerman noted that the ‘Will & Grace’ alum ‘is an incredible interior designer’ and asked if she would be up to ‘give the White House a facelift,’” Deadline.com said.
Ms. Mullally had this to say about that — according to her husband: “Ultimately, I don’t think it would be worth it. I think we’re happy in the hills of Los Angeles.”
THE ECLIPSE HEADLINES
The 2024 solar eclipse on Monday has certainly given the news media much to do. Some headlines from the last 24 hours:
“Your Last Minute Guide To America’s Best Solar Eclipse Since 1806” (Forbes); “The April 8 solar eclipse will bring weird sights, sounds and feelings” (Space.com); “10 surprising facts about the 2024 solar eclipse” (Time.com); “Watch the total solar eclipse online here” (Wired); “Solar eclipse 2024: How to see it in the Bay Area and why the event is so rare” (San Francisco Chronicle); “Solar eclipse 2024: Here’s the latest forecast for stormy skies” (USA Today); “2024 solar eclipse Florida: Enter ZIP code best viewing time” (Tallahassee Democrat); “Why a cloudy forecast doesn’t mean your eclipse is ruined” (CNN); “View the 2024 solar eclipse from these five crags” (Climbing magazine); and “I drove from L.A. to the Midwest to feel the wonder of an eclipse” (Los Angeles Times).
FOXIFIED
Fox Weather — Fox News Media’s free, ad-supported streaming-TV weather service — will offer “special marathon coverage” of the eclipse featuring correspondents and meteorologists reporting from Texas to Vermont, following the “arc of the eclipse.”
These cities include Dallas and Waco, Texas; Little Rock, Arkansas; Indianapolis and Bloomington, Indiana; Cape Girardeau, Missouri; Rochester, New York; and Burlington, Vermont.
“Additionally, Fox Weather meteorologist Nick Kosir will host a viewing party of the total solar eclipse from Fox Square, outside the network’s New York City headquarters. Beginning at [noon], a multiscreen viewing experience will be set up on Sixth Avenue to showcase the live coverage,” the network said.
Find it at FoxWeather.com.
POLL DU JOUR
• 85% of U.S. adults say the economy’s “an extremely or very important” issue in the U.S.
• 83% cite health care as extremely or very important.
• 76% cite crime in those terms.
• 66% cite gun policy.
• 58% cite immigration.
• 58% cite abortion.
• 53% cite foreign policy.
• 50% cite climate change.
SOURCE: An AP-NORC poll of 1,282 U.S. adults conducted March 21-25 and released Thursday.
• Follow Jennifer Harper on X @HarperBulletin, on Facebook @HarperUniverse.