First Lady Jill Biden praised her husband’s achievements in job creation, gun control legislation and infrastructure investment as she courted donors on Wednesday in her first fundraising trip in California since President Biden announced he would seek re-election.

Optimism is what drives my husband and nothing can slow him down, she told about 80 people gathered under a cloudy sky in the backyard of a Lake Hollywood mansion. Joe is ready, as he likes to say, to get the job done. So as we get ready to jump into a campaign again I can’t even believe I’m saying this already just think how far we’ve come in the last

3 three

year.

She pointed to administrative efforts during the pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the debt crisis as examples of Joe’s steadfast leadership.

When things look their darkest and when my heart feels the headlines in the news, I know it’s Joe’s clear vision that I want to move us forward, Biden said.

Democratic officials did not respond when asked how many donors contributed to attend the midday fundraiser at a white modern farmhouse with the iconic Hollywood sign on a nearby hilltop. The five-bedroom home is owned by lawyers Lisa and Andrew Gilford.

The event raised money for the Biden Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee that includes Biden’s campaign, the Democratic National Committee and state Democratic parties and can raise hundreds of thousands of dollars per donor.

The fundraiser came days after former President Trump was dictated on 37 charges related to his handling of classified documents, and a day after he appeared in a federal court in Miami.

Jill Biden, who spoke for 11 minutes, did not directly name the criminal case or Trump. But both clearly loomed in the background as she compared the Biden administration to what happened before he took office in 2021.

Her husband’s leadership had led to the creation of 13 million jobs, a manufacturing boom, the bipartisan infrastructure bill, lower drug prices, and the passage of the first major gun control bill in decades.

she Jill Biden

said.

We’ve accomplished so much and I hope you’re proud of Joe because his wins are truly your wins, she said. We know what’s in store if these MAGA Republicans win because we’ve been through this all.

Biden reminded the audience that Trump shapes policy in late-night tweets and spoke of democracy and freedom under constant attack. The difference between her husband winning a second term or a Republican entering the White House is stark, she said.

That is the choice right now chaos and corruption, hatred and division on one side. You can choose that, or you can choose strong, steadfast leadership, Jill Biden said. We can’t go back to those dark days and we won’t with your help.

On Tuesday, Biden headlined two fundraisers for her husband’s re-election campaign and spoke at an event for the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence in the San Francisco Bay Area. The center is led by former Arizona Representative Gabby Giffords, who was nearly killed in a 2011 assassination attempt and appeared alongside the First Lady.

Biden, a professor, said at the Giffords’ event that the fear of a mass shooting at the community college where she teaches regularly crosses her mind.

“As a teacher, I’ve imagined that scene in my classroom more times than I can count,” Biden said. “At the beginning of each semester, I explain to my students what to do if the worst happens.”

Biden praised her husband’s efforts to suppress gun violence, including background checks and efforts to prevent domestic violence from getting guns.

“He has done everything in his power, and these changes will save lives,” Biden said. ‘But it’s not enough. We know that. Joe knows that. We need Republicans in Congress to get out of the way.”

President Biden is going to the Bay Area next week. Although his schedule has not been publicly announced, it is almost certain that there will be meetings with

donors.

These are California’s first fundraisers for

President

Biden’s re-election bid. In 2020, state residents spent $305.6 million to support his campaign, more than a fifth of his total proceeds and the most of any state in the country, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics of donations

more than

$200 from individuals. And that amount excludes contributions to political action committees that operate independently of campaigns.

But despite California’s liberal political leanings, it’s also a major source of Republican campaign dollars. This week and next, former conservative talk show host Larry Elder, former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis are among the presidential hopefuls holding fundraisers in the state.