President Joe Biden’s appearance at a $25 million Radio City Music Hall fundraiser with former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton descended into chaos as the trio of presidents being interviewed by Stephen Colbert got interrupted by protesters.
A handful of pro-Palestinian protesters shouted down the presidents, with one woman telling Biden ‘you have blood on your hands,’ as another loud guest warned of a nuclear war with Russia: ‘you’re out of your f***ing minds.’
The event was supposed to be a star-studded evening with major donors, with some tickets costing as much as $500,000.
Former President Donald Trump also traveled to New York Thursday, to pay his respects at a wake for slain NYPD officer Jonathan Diller.
Colbert kicked the conversation off by noting how he was giving Obama and Clinton five minutes each to answer his questions – adding that Biden would get seven minutes.
‘Because as the sitting president, you can order SEAL Team 6 to take me out, which according to Donald Trump’s lawyers is perfectly OK,’ the Late Show host said.
Biden, Obama and Clinton all took shots at Trump – without saying his name – in the opening minutes, with Biden recalling what motivated him to be president – the Republican’s dealing with the racial unrest in Charlottesville in 2017.
Obama said that Trump and the Republican Party ‘increasingly seems unconcerned with the essence of America,’ while Clinton slapped the ex-president even harder.
Clinton said Trump ‘stole from Barack Obama’ a good economy.
‘I listened to him tell us how terrible the American economy was all during 2016. And then, by January 2017, after the inauguration, it had become wonderful, miraculously, overnight,’ Clinton said.
Clinton noted how job growth was slower under Trump, but people didn’t feel it yet.
‘Then all of a sudden, Joe Biden comes along and creates roughly twice as many jobs,’ he said. ‘So I believe in keeping score. Not in a vindictive way but in a positive way.’
Colbert then quickly went to a lightning round – asking each of the leaders if they planned to sell any golden sneakers.
By Nikki Schwab