The epicenter of the presidential campaign shifted to New York on Thursday, as the incumbent president and three of his predecessors descended on the area for dueling events that illustrated the kinds of political clashes that could come to define the general election.

For Democrats, it was a high-profile, celebrity-studded fundraiser for President Joe Biden in Manhattan. On Long Island, former President Donald Trump attended a wake for a New York City officer who was killed during a traffic stop Monday. Together, the day’s events struck an unusual contrast in a general election campaign that has so far been largely defined by appearances in courtrooms and at small, invitation-only events.

Biden, along with Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, appeared before 5,000 donors at a Radio City Music Hall event that campaign aides said raised $25 million. The eye-popping number set a record for a single political event, according to the aides, and offered a star-studded show of Democratic unity as the president heads into a difficult reelection campaign.

Former President Barack Obama touches President Joe Biden on the back as they walk from Air Force One as they arrive at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Thursday, March 28, 2024.

The three Democratic presidents spent much of their time in New York City wrapped in the glitz of their celebrity supporters. Tieless and in matching white shirts, they sat for an interview on a celebrity podcast, were roasted by comedian Mindy Kaling and interviewed by Stephen Colbert, a late-night host.

“Our democracy is at stake, not a joke. I think democracy is literally at stake,” Biden said. “We’re at an inflection point in history.”

Both Obama and Clinton made the case for reelecting Biden, praising his work expanding health care coverage, creating jobs, capping insulin prices and navigating the competing demands of the war in the Gaza Strip.

“It’s not just the negative case against the presumptive nominee on the other side. It’s the positive case for somebody who’s done an outstanding job,” said Obama. “We also have a positive story to tell about the future and that is something that Joe Biden has worked on, diligently, each and every day.”

Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, made his own appearance in the area several hours earlier, at a funeral home on Long Island surrounded by hundreds of police officers and family members of the slain officer. While not officially a campaign stop, aides used the appearance to draw a sharp contrast with Biden, attacking the Democrats for spending their evening with donors and celebrities. In recent weeks, Trump has spent far more time battling in court than in battleground states.

Biden, meanwhile, has increased the pace of his events since his State of the Union address early this month. But the fundraise was one of the largest crowds he has appeared before as president. It will expand an already significant cash advantage, too, raising in one night $5 million more than Trump reported collecting in February.

Pro-Palestinian protesters outside Radio City Music Hall, where President Joe Biden and former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton are holding a fundraiser in New York, Thursday, March 28, 2024.

The day’s events underscored a central dynamic of the race: Biden is campaigning with the force of the Democratic establishment behind his bid, as Trump stands largely alone.

While Trump has been endorsed by many Republicans in Congress, a small but persistent wing of the party has declined to support his third run for the White House. The only other living former Republican president has not endorsed his bid, nor has Mike Pence, his former vice president.

Biden faces a different problem. Nearly all Democratic Party officials, politicians and strategists stand behind his effort. Yet, he has faced sustained opposition from a vocal minority of progressives who have protested the war in Gaza, through protest votes and event disruptions.

On Thursday, a group of several hundred protesters marched through the rain to stand outside the fundraiser. “Biden, Biden, you’re a liar, we demand a cease-fire,” they chanted. Biden has faced growing anger from political supporters and global allies about the civilian death toll in Israel’s war on Hamas.

Inside the hall, the three presidents sat in matching white armchairs and took the stage to strains of “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen, the unofficial bard of the Democratic Party.

Before their appearance, Kaling warmed up the crowd with jokes about those who spent $500,000 to attend and the age of the men they were all gathered to celebrate. Kaling, 44, said that she looked like a “cast member on Euphoria” compared to Biden, Obama and Clinton.

Protesters disrupted the program by shouting “blood on your hands.” Some were escorted out of the hall by security. “You can’t just talk and not listen,” Obama snapped, as he was interrupted. “That’s what the other side does.”

When asked about the situation in Gaza, Biden expressed understanding for both sides, saying there are “too many innocent victims, Israeli and Palestinian.”

“It’s understandable Israel has such a profound anger and Hamas is still there,” he said. “But we must, in fact, stop the effort that is resulting in significant deaths of innocent civilians, particularly children.”

The appearance ended with a joke, when Colbert, Clinton and Obama put on aviator sunglasses as their “impression” of the president.

Biden joked that he’s a man who “loves two things: Ray-Ban sunglasses and ice cream.”

A musical program featured a series of celebrity endorsers including Queen Latifah, Lizzo, Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo and Lea Michele.

Only a small group of press traveling with the president was allowed in the event and video footage by the news media was prohibited. Before the fundraiser, the three presidents participated in a joint interview on “Smartless,” a podcast hosted by actors Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes.

Trump’s appearance struck a decidedly different tone. The former president spent about 30 minutes inside a funeral home in suburban Massapequa on Long Island, visiting with the widow and 1-year-old son of Officer Jonathan Diller. Diller was fatally shot during a traffic stop Monday.

Former President Donald Trump attends the wake of Jonathan Diller, a slain NYPD officer, at a funeral home chapel in Massapequa, N.Y. on March 28, 2024.

While not an official campaign event, Trump took the opportunity to press his tough-on-crime message. Trump, who is facing four criminal cases, including one in Manhattan that is going to trial in less than three weeks, stood in front of more than a dozen police officers and proclaimed the need for the country to “get back to law and order.”

The New York Times News Service