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Protesters gather at Rossotti Field on May 10, 2024. Photo by Eleanor Raab. 
Protesters hold up banners and signs at Rossotti Field on May 10, 2024. Photo by Eleanor Raab. 
A counter-protester stands along Alpine Road while a Santa Clara County Sheriff looks on on May 10, 2024. Photo by Eleanor Raab. 
President Joe Biden’s motorcade passes through Portola Valley on Alpine Road on May 10, 2024. Photo by Eleanor Raab.
President Joe Biden’s trip to the Bay Area to attend fundraisers with wealthy donors for his reelection campaign on Friday, May 10, spurred pro-Palestinian protests in Portola Valley and Palo Alto.
A group of about 50 protesters met in advance of Biden’s arrival at a fundraiser held at the Portola Valley home of Vinod Khosla, a tech entrepreneur. Khosla has given approximately $1.4 million to Democratic campaigns and organizations over the course of this election cycle, according to Federal Election Commission records.
The protesters gathered at Rossotti Field on Alpine Road at 11 a.m. to march to the intersection of Alpine Road and Los Trancos Road. The fundraiser will be held on Los Trancos Road.
“While Israel imposes a famine on top of its bombing of Gaza, Bay Area billionaires are having a party,” said a post announcing the protest from @BayResistance on Instagram. “Come tell them what you think!”
“The idea is to let them know that this is not OK, to be a visible signal that this is not OK,” said Michelle, an organizer of the protest.
The protest remained peaceful, with attendees holding up signs and playing music as they walked along Alpine Road.
“We are out here because we are protesting Biden who is actively participating in and attending multiple fundraisers in the area,” said another attendee named Nadine, who identified herself as Palestinian. “This is an individual who is actively aiding and abetting a genocide.”
Alpine Road was closed to traffic as Biden’s motorcade drove through the town.
Around 80 people were in attendance at the Portola Valley fundraising event, with several people wearing pins with United States and Israel flags or holding small Israel flags, according to White House press pool reporters.
Later in the day at 1 p.m., more than 50 people gathered at the corner of El Camino Real and Embarcadero Road in Palo Alto in protest.
People dressed in keffiyehs and shirts reading “Not in our name, Jews say ceasefire now,” gathered at the corner that advocacy group Vigil4Gaza meets every Sunday.
As cars honked in support, young children and adults alike carried signs reading “Babies are not collateral damage” and “Prez Biden, use tax $ for peace.”
The group marched toward the corner of Addison Avenue and Webster Street, where President Biden was attending a re-election fundraiser in Palo Alto.
At the corner of Addison Avenue and Middlefield Road, the march came to a stop, when the streets were barricaded by police — some wearing riot gear. They were met with counter protestors on the other side of barricades, holding American and Israeli flags and signs reading “Thank you, Joe.”
“He [Biden] is green-lighting genocide,” said Michelle Higgins. “We’re sending a message that fundraising millions of dollars during this time is not okay.”
Palo Alto resident Jeanine Savello tried to get a glimpse of the president from the cordoned off intersection of Waverley and Addison streets on Friday afternoon. She had a small child in a stroller with her.
“He’s the president and I’m glad to see him in town, no matter what you think of him. It’s one of the great things about living here,” she said, adding that she also tried to get a glimpse of then-President George W. Bush when he visited the area.
Addison Elementary, Hays Elementary and Green Middle School closed around noon in anticipation of the president’s arrival in the neighborhood. The last-minute closure caused stress for some parents, as the schools only received notice about the presidential event in recent days.
Biden then attended a reception at the Palo Alto home of former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and her husband DCVC Co-founder Zack Bogue.
At the fundraiser, he was introduced by Mayer and made short remarks to a small crowd of around 30 people, including Mayer and Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s wife, who he praised as women leaders.
“It’s important that people have someone to look to,” Biden said, looking toward them, “You could be governor and you could be president. I’m not joking. I’m being deadly earnest. A lot’s changing.”
Biden focused his remarks on the momentum of his campaign, which he says is in his favor with 1.6 million people having donated, 97% in amounts under $200.
He said his campaign has opened 150 offices in battleground states “and Trump has opened zero offices. And it’s not just because he’s on trial,” Biden said.
Biden, who was in San Francisco in the Fairmont Hotel earlier in the day, landed in a field at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory around 12:30 p.m.
Biden arrived in the Bay Area Thursday evening, touching down at Mountain View’s Moffett Field Air Base around 8 p.m. He left for Seattle Friday afternoon.
Why not show your face if you are trying to be a “visible signal?”
Where are the signs that say release the hostages?