LOS ANGELES — President Joe Biden slammed into the U.S. Supreme Court at a star studded fundraiser in Los Angeles on Saturday night, saying the court is “out of step”.
According to pool reporters at the event, Biden said that the “next president is likely to have two new Supreme Court nominees” and warned if Donald Trump takes back the White House he would “appoint two more [justices] flying flags upside down”, referencing Justice Samuel Alito’s flag controversy.
“This has never been a court that’s so far out of step,” Biden said.
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel moderated a conversation with Biden and former President Barack Obama at a fundraiser hosted by Hollywood stars George Clooney and Julia Roberts, which the campaign said had raised over $28 million.
“This Saturday we are going to see an unprecedented and record setting turn out from the media and entertainment world,” said campaign co-chair Jeffrey Katzenberg in a statement. “The enthusiasm and commitment for Biden/Harris couldn’t be stronger. We all understand this is the most important election of our lifetime.”
A campaign official said that the fundraiser money “will be used to open offices, hire organizers, and launch paid media campaigns to communicate directly” with voters.
Obama took the task of slamming Trump and warning that normalizing his behavior can be dangerous amid being convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records.
“Look, part of what has happened in the last several years is we’ve normalized behavior that used to be disqualified,” he said. “The other spectacle of the nominee of one of the two major parties is sitting in court and being convicted by a jury of his peers on 34 counts. You have his foundation, it’s not allowed to operate because it was engaging in monkey business and not actually philanthropic. You had this organization being prosecuted for not paying taxes. … There was a time when we had certain core values that we agreed with.
Trump named three justices during his term – Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanagh and Amy Coney Barrett — solidifying a conservative majority on the court. Biden warned Saturday that the threat of Trump naming more justices to the court should scare the American people.
“I think it’s one of the scariest parts,” Biden replied.
Someone from the crowd shouted about gay rights potentially coming under attack, Biden responded, “Not on my watch.”
“Look: if, in fact, we’re able to change some of the justices when they retire and put in really progressive judges like we’ve always had, tell me that won’t change your life when Trump justices are already gutting voting rights, overturning Roe, decimating affirmative action, and so much more,” Biden said.
