President Obama on Thursday addressed the horrific massacre of nine people in a Charleston, South Carolina church–and then boarded Air Force One to California for a series of high-dollar fundraisers to benefit the Democrat party.
Obama is scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles early Thursday afternoon for a pair of pricey fundraisers to benefit the Democratic National Committee and the DNC’s 2016 White House Victory Fund.
Obama will travel to the tony Pacific Palisades home of television producer Chuck Lorre (Two and a Half Men) for a $16,700-per-person fundraiser to benefit the Victory Fund. According to Variety, the event will be an “intimate, living room style” affair where 30 donors will get the chance to have an “open dialogue” with the president.
In the evening, Obama is set to attend a fundraiser at the Beverly Hills home of Tyler Perry, the actor and filmmaker best known for his Madea films. Tickets for the Perry event range from a base entrance fee of $2,500 to $33,400, the maximum allowable donation to a national party committee, for the chance to have dinner with Obama, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
On Friday, Obama will sit for a one-hour interview with Marc Maron for the comedian’s popular podcast ‘WTF with Marc Maron’ before boarding Air Force One to San Francisco to attend the U.S. Conference of Mayors. While in San Francisco, Obama will reportedly attend an intimate, $33,400 per ticket DNC fundraiser at the home of venture capitalist and Uber investor Shervin Pishevar. Obama will also attend a $10,000 per person event hosted by billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer.
Meanwhile, South Carolina and the rest of the nation were grieving Thursday for the horrific massacre of nine people at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston late Wednesday night. 21-year-old suspect Dylann Storm Roof was taken into custody late Thursday morning.
Obama addressed the shooting Thursday morning, saying that he has “had to make too many statements like this too many times.”
“Any death of this sort is a tragedy. Any shooting involving multiple victims is a tragedy” Obama said from the podium at the White House press briefing room. “There is something particularly heartbreaking about death happening in a place in which we seek solace and we seek peace.”
“Communities like [Charleston] have had to endure tragedies like this too many times.”
Former Secretary of State and Democrat presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton will also be on the West Coast this weekend for a series of fundraisers. On Thursday, Clinton is set to attend an event at the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach, with tickets ranging from $1,000 to $2,700, the maximum contribution allowed for an individual political candidate.
Clinton will also reportedly attend a trio of $2,700 per ticket fundraisers on Friday, with events at the homes of Westfield Corp. co-CEO Peter Lowy, HBO executive Michael Lombardo and actor Tobey Maguire.
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