Obama helps raise $11 million in first campaign event for Biden's White House bid

Former U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday made his first campaign appearance alongside Joe Biden since endorsing him for president in April, helping raise more than $11 million for his former No. 2 as he exhorted supporters to meet the “urgency” of the moment, Reuters reports.

“I appreciate all of you being on this call,” Obama said at a virtual fundraiser. “But man, this is serious business. Whatever you’ve done so far is not enough.”

The virtual fundraiser collected $7.6 million from 175,000 grassroots contributors. Obama and Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, also hosted a private online portion for high-dollar donors, which was not open to reporters and brought in more than $3.4 million.

The haul was the most for any Biden campaign event, coming on the heels of the Democratic Party and Biden’s campaign outraising Republican President Donald Trump in May for the first time.

Tuesday’s fundraiser showed the drawing power of Obama, who remains overwhelmingly popular among the Democratic base and who will be counted on as a key campaign figure this autumn.

It also highlighted the dramatic changes the coronavirus pandemic has wrought on traditional campaigning, with the two politicians sharing a split screen from their living rooms, while supporters tuned in via livestream.