Biden hosts fundraiser with his two-term Democratic presidential predecessors

President Joe Biden on Thursday joined Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, the only living two-term Democratic presidents, aiming to use their star power to woo big-pocketed donors as Biden tries to join their ranks.

In what was his most high-profile fundraiser so far this election cycle, Biden joined Obama and Clinton for a high-dollar fundraiser at Radio City Music Hall in New York, as the two former presidents enter a general election campaign that Biden has said will determine the future of democracy in America.

The three presidents sat for a conversation with late-night host Stephen Colbert. Tickets for the fundraiser ranged from $225 to $500,000 with such perks available for the highest-dollar guests as having their photographs taken with the three presidents by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz.

More than 5,000 donors were expected to attend the event, which also included celebrities like Queen Latifah, Lizzo, Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo and Lea Michele.

The fact that three of the four still-living Democratic presidents were in the same room - Jimmy Carter, 99, is receiving hospice care and did not attend – exemplifies the crucial stakes Biden and Democrats believe hang in the balance in his contest against his predecessor, former President Donald Trump.

Trump was also in New York on Thursday, attending the wake of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller who was slain in Queens earlier this week. Diller was killed during a traffic stop on Monday.

“What happened is such a sad, sad event, such a horrible thing. And it’s happening all too often and we’re just not going to let it happen. We just can’t,” Trump told reporters outside the wake.

He added, “We got to toughen it up. We have to get back to law and order, we have to do a lot of things differently because this is not working.”

The former president’s campaign hopes to top Biden’s record next month. Sources familiar with the matter said they were expecting to raise at least $33 million at an April 6 event, which is slated to have some of the GOP’s highest donors in attendance.

While the main events Thursday night were limited to the highest-paying donors, the campaign also hosted what they described as a separate “pre-program” for grassroots donors, hosted by campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodriguez and also featuring Biden, Obama and Clinton.

That star power seems to have paid off. The Biden campaign said ahead of the fundraiser it had raised more than $25 million – making it the most successful single political fundraiser ever in terms of dollars raised. Around a third of that $25 million came from small-dollar, grassroots donations of $200 or less made online, sources familiar with the fundraising efforts told CNN.

Supporters who chipped in $25 were invited to participate in a “virtual pre-program for grassroots supporters” featuring the three presidents.

The fundraiser on Thursday is expected to be just the beginning of Obama’s involvement in Biden’s campaign. The former president went to the White House last week to record content with Biden that they plan to steadily roll out over the next few weeks.

He is expected to take a larger role in Biden’s campaign – including traveling to college campuses and crucial battleground stakes – closer to November.

Ahead of the fundraiser, hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of Midtown Manhattan to protest Biden’s support for Israel amid its war in Gaza and call for a ceasefire.

Biden was interrupted earlier in the week by ceasefire protesters during a stop in North Carolina, where he acknowledged, “They have a point — we need to get a lot more care into Gaza.” He has also called for a temporary ceasefire and the release of hostages held by Hamas.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

CNN’s Jeff Zeleny, Donald Judd, Brian Rokus, Kristen Holmes and Fredreka Schouten contributed to this report.