ANNA’S FIRESIDE CHAT: Chicken, grilled vegetables and political donors were served up at a Monday night fundraiser at Anna Wintour’s West Village townhouse for President Joe Biden’s re-election bid. Tory Burch, Michael Kors and Jordan Roth were among the 40-or-so guests who heard from First Lady Jill Biden at the seated dinner, according to a White House pool report.
While White House staffers and East Wing-ers were busy polishing up the preparations for Wednesday’s state dinner in honor of Australia’s prime minister Anthony Albanese, the first lady flew to the Big Apple for what amounted to a five-hour stay and two fundraisers.
After first addressing about 100 attendees at the Columbus Citizens Foundation’s event for the Biden-Kamala Harris ticket, the first lady headed downtown for the second stop of the night: the Wintour-hosted gathering, where guests enjoyed a seated dinner in a primarily candlelight room.
Dreamworks chief executive officer Jeffrey Katzenberg, Democratic National Committee chairman James Harrison and Huma Abedin were among the guests, according to the pool report.
For the occasion, Biden changed out of the white dress that she had worn upon departure from Joint Base Andrews Monday afternoon into a black dress. The somber color choice was echoed by Wintour, who was also uncharacteristically dressed in black. The event took place as the Israel-Hamas war continues, and shortly after Wintour’s first husband died.
Seated in front of a fireplace with Biden, Wintour acknowledged “these very, very hard few weeks,” and President Biden’s leadership during his trip to Israel last week “to show support and negotiate aid into Gaza,” according to the pool report. Wintour described that as “a risk and an act of moral courage that paid off.” The Condé Nast creative leader has helped to champion other Democratic tickets over the years, and praised the first lady for “this incredible ability to connect with all Americans of all walks of life and all political affiliations. She has that smile. She has that light. And she looks fantastic in anything.”
Biden, who like previous first ladies has appeared on the cover of Vogue magazine (which was a point of consternation for her predecessor Melania Trump), delivered a 13-minute speech. She told Wintour that she has “single-handedly — and I think probably everybody here would agree — transformed the fashion industry.” Some might suggest that international job creators like Kors and Burch have done their part too, through their massive built-from-scratch businesses.
Earlier Monday, Kors announced that he would personally pitch in to donate to the International Council of the Red Cross by matching the donation being made by his parent company Capri Holdings Ltd. to support those affected by the conflict in Israel and Gaza. Biden addressed the situation and said, “In these moments, with these perils that the world is facing, there is nobody that I would want to have sitting in the Situation Room right now than my husband, and he is probably actually there,” which drew laughter from the crowd, according to the pool report.
Biden then encouraged attendees not to wait until 2024 to start their support. As the pool reporter headed for the door to leave, the first lady was heard saying, “Just remember you can tell, me anything. I’m good at keeping a secret. And if you have anything you want me to tell Joe…”