President Joe Biden left the Bay Area on Friday afternoon after a brief stop to attend reelection campaign events on the Peninsula.
Biden arrived Thursday evening at Moffett Federal Airfield in Mountain View and stayed overnight in San Francisco, then attended fundraisers in Portola Valley and Palo Alto before leaving on Air Force One to another campaign event in Seattle later Friday, according to the White House and pool media reports.
Tickets for that event ranged from $6,600 to $100,000 and about 80 people were in attendance for the president's 16-minute stump speech.
A cluster of supporters also gathered outside to try to get a glimpse.
“It’s an honor to see a sitting President and I’m very happy with what Biden is doing,” said supporter Jean Eastman.
But supporters were soon joined by protesters as a coalition of pro-Palestinian groups and individuals gathered to try and get the president and donors' attention as they drove by.
“Biden cannot come into town, scooping up big bucks from billionaires and not be held accountable for his role in the genocide of Palestinians at this time,” said protester Cole Krawitz.
Despite tight control by the Secret Service and law enforcement, protesters tried to partially block road as the motorcade left but the cars never slowed down.
The second fundraiser Biden attended was at the Palo Alto home of former Yahoo and Google executive Marissa Mayer. Tickets for that event ran from $40,000 to $50,000 a piece.
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Pro-Palestinian demonstrators showed up outside the event as well with some trying to impede the motorcade as it left but, again, never managed to slow the president down.
First Lady Jill Biden was also in the region after traveling separately from her husband and arrived Thursday from a campaign event in Portland. She spoke at a fundraiser in Kentfield in Marin County on Thursday evening and then continued on the campaign trail south to the Los Angeles area Friday morning.
According to pool reports, the president at his fundraisers Friday touted his efforts to promote women and diversity in his administration and made jokes denigrating former President Donald Trump, his Republican opponent in the November election.
"With your help, not only will I get reelected, but hopefully we will elect a Democratic House and Democratic Senate and get a lot done," Biden said, per the pool reports.
