Late-night comedy legend David Letterman is set to headline a fundraiser for embattled Joe Biden.
The former CBS ‘Late Show’ host will headline the fundraiser on Martha Vineyard alongside Hawaii Gov. Josh Green at the home of one of the governor’s friends.
Letterman, 77, was touted as the evening’s “special guest” in an invitation seen by Deadline.com.
He has been considered a longtime supporter and friend of Biden’s dating back to his days as vice president, and his appointment signals that the president’s campaign is forging ahead despite continued calls for him to step down, including from former supporters.
The fundraiser will take place on July 29 and is one of 10 scheduled during the last 10 days of July.
Late-night comedy legend David Letterman will headline a fundraiser for embattled Joe Biden, officials confirmed over the weekend.
The former CBS ‘Late Show’ host will headline the fundraiser as Biden and his team continue to insist he will not drop out of the race, despite losing the support of other big names.
“We stand with the President, the First Lady, the Vice President and the Democratic Party, through good times and bad because he has been there for us as a family and as a state,” Green wrote in a text message to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Friday confirming the fundraiser.
He declined to respond to a request for further details after The Associated Press was first to report the news of the upcoming event.
That same day, Biden, who is recovering from COVID-19 at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, called for a united front within his party as he sought to refocus attention on Donald Trump and his plans for the Oval Office.
He said he was looking forward to returning to the campaign trail next week to challenge his rival and his claims, “while defending my own record and the vision I have for America.”
“One in which we save our democracy, protect our rights and freedoms and create opportunities for all,” he said.
“The stakes are high and the choice is clear,” he continued in a written statement. “Together, we will win.”
Despite a disastrous debate performance and a pronounced exodus of Democratic donors, he has continued to insist he is the best Democrat to beat the GOP front-runner, and Green told AP he essentially agrees.
“I think the president stays in this race unless he feels like it’s unwinnable, or he feels like he has to listen to other voices in his inner circle telling him he shouldn’t run,” Green said, without drawing attention to possible last-minute replacements like Kamala Harris.
The fundraiser is one of 10 scheduled for the president in the final days of July and will be held at a home on affluent Martha’s Vineyard.
Also hosting the event will be Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, a longtime friend of the Bidens who said the party will be held at the home of one of his friends. Green’s wife’s uncle was a college roommate of the commander in chief and was elected to his post in 2022.
“If the president felt he was not up to the task, and he really is not up to the task, he would resign.”
Green, meanwhile, has been tied to the Biden family for years, as his wife’s uncle was the commander-in-chief’s college roommate.
Despite standing by his friend, he said the decision on whether to drop out of the race would ultimately come down to Biden himself, as his situation remains in turmoil following last month’s disastrous debate.
In the weeks since, other top Biden supporters in Hollywood have been quick to change their tune on the prospect of Biden running for a second term, with “Ocean’s Eleven” star George Clooney leading the way.
“It’s devastating to say, but the Joe Biden I stood with three weeks ago at the fundraiser was not the ‘big deal’ Joe Biden of 2010,” Clooney, a longtime Biden supporter, wrote in a scathing op-ed published in the New York Times.
“He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020,” he continued. “He was the same man we all saw at the debate.”
The actor said at another point in his written statement: “It’s about age. Nothing more. But it’s not about anything that can be reversed. We’re not going to win in November with this president.”
Figures including Stephen King, Rob Reiner, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and Star Trek screenwriter Damon Lindelof have followed suit, even though they are all longtime Democrats.
Some celebrities, like Letterman, have remained loyal instead, and the recently retired host has been joined by other stars like Jack Black (whose Tenacious D bandmate is facing criticism for an anti-Trump comment after his near-assassination) and Barbra Streisand.
Former President Barack Obama has emerged as Team Biden’s leading defender, even turning to X to defend Biden against Donald Trump in the wake of his recent debate performance.
Letterman, who retired nearly a decade ago after 33 years, has yet to comment on the confirmed appearance, as other celebrities including George Clooney, The Rock and Cardi B have ditched Biden entirely.
Both were present at the Peacock Theatre in downtown Los Angeles when Biden took the stage on June 16, as were superstars Elton John and Katy Perry a few weeks later in New York City after the debate.
Other stars, such as Cardi B, were not so kind after the president’s lukewarm performance, and the rapper and others such as Duane ‘The Rock’ Johnson immediately announced that they would not participate in the upcoming elections.
The New York musician in particular said she felt “betrayed” by the Biden administration.
Meanwhile, Biden’s June 16 campaign fundraiser was also attended by former President Barack Obama, in an apparent attempt to help Biden secure a second term.
The former president has since emerged as the campaign’s leading advocate, even tapping X to defend Biden against Trump in the wake of the recent debate.
Meanwhile, videos from the end of the fundraiser subsequently circulated on social media, analyzing Biden’s physical and mental capabilities.
The president appeared frozen on stage for about seven seconds at one point, and began walking away after Obama put his hand on Biden’s back.
A White House spokesman responded, calling the viral videos “cheap fakes” and heavily edited, created “in bad faith” to speak ill of the Democrat.
Letterman, who retired in 2015 after 33 years on his show, has yet to comment on the confirmed appearance.
