Jimmy Kimmel to Headline Fundraiser in LA for DCCC With Shonda Rhimes, Pelosi, Jeffries — Minimum Ticket $25K

(Photo By Sthanlee B. Mirador/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)

Late night host Jimmy Kimmel will be headlining an upcoming fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, according to an invitation to the event shared by MS NOW contributor Teddy Schleifer.

Kimmel, along with fellow late night hosts like Stephen Colbert, has been a target of criticism from President Donald Trump, including threats of some sort of intervention from the Federal Communications Commission and calls for him to be fired. Thus far, Kimmel has managed to shrug off the attacks from the White House, other than a brief suspension that arguably raised his profile in anti-Trump circles, and just signed a contract extension with ABC last December.

On Tuesday, Schleifer shared a screenshot of the invitation to a fundraiser for the DCCC scheduled for the evening of March 10 in Los Angeles.

According to the invitation, Kimmel will be a “Special Guest” at the event, along with headliners Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). Also listed among the ambassadors, Democratic donors, and other politicos on the host committee is Shonda Rhimes, the television producer behind popular series including Grey’s Anatomy and Bridgerton.

The invite lists multiple tiers for guests to be included, with the minimum level a $25,000 donation to the DCCC. Other options are the $44,300 “Leader’s Circle,” serving as an “Event Chair” for $100,000, and being able to call yourself one of the “Jeffries 300” for $310,100.

It is not clear what exactly the “300” is referencing.

Mediaite’s calls to the DCCC rep or consulting firm listed on the invite were not returned at the time of publication. Democrats need a total of 218 seats in the House to take back the majority; Republicans currently hold 218, Democrats 214, and three seats vacant.

Perhaps it is a hope of finding 300 donors at that level (which would rake in a glorious campaign war chest of more than $93 million), or a reference to the Spartan warriors whose courage at the Battle of Thermopylae during the Greco-Persian Wars was portrayed (with a good dose of creative license) in Zach Snyder’s 2006 film 300. Those Spartans did lose that battle (no spoiler alert given for a war that happened about 2,500 years ago), fighting valiantly to the last man, but their noble sacrifice helped inspire the rest of the Greek army, who then successfully defeated the Persian defenders the following year. An awkward metaphor for the midterms, to be sure.

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