Joe Biden was met with protesters urging him to drop out of the 2020 presidential race upon leaving a Wall Street fundraising event he hoped would reignite his flagging campaign.
The former vice president was met with chants of "drop out Joe" and a mock funeral for his campaign after he exited the event at New York's Wayfarer restaurant on West 57th Street, which was attended by more than 250 financial donors.
Biden, previously thought as the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, has struggled so far with his campaign, finishing fourth in the Iowa caucuses and fifth in last week's New Hampshire primaries.
The "funeral for Biden's 2020 campaign" was organized by the New York Communities for Change group.
A clip posted on social shows members dressed all in black performing a "moving eulogy" for Biden's "well-run campaign" outside his fundraising event.
One member of the group described Biden as someone "that many of us at one point respected," during the eulogy.
"And then, things have changed, due to the political climate, due to younger people being more alert and aware of what's going on.
"Between the results in Iowa and New Hampshire, things are looking pretty grim and we're sad to be here and to say that this campaign is pretty much done," he added.
"The people have spoken, young people have spoken."
In a tweet, New York Communities for Change reiterated that they want Biden to drop out of the race.
"You can skip Nevada. You can skip South Carolina. And go straight home to Delaware," they added.
We found @JoeBiden at his 250 person Wall Street fundraiser.
— New York Communities for Change (@nychange) February 14, 2020
We had a message: DROP OUT JOE!
You don’t have to do this Joe.
You can skip Nevada. You can skip South Carolina. And go straight home to Deleware. pic.twitter.com/BKjB3trVSb
According to CNBC, Biden is expected to raise around $1 million from Wall Street and big-money donors from two events in New York.
According to a guest list obtained by CNBC, among those in attendance at the event on Thursday were former Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack, Goldman Sachs chief spokesman Jake Siewert, Snap chairman Michael Lynton and former Obama economic adviser Jeffrey Zients. Entry to the events cost around $2,800 each.
As well as a push from multimillionaires and Wall Street, Biden is also hoping voters of color will help rescue his campaign.
Speaking after his fifth-place finish in the New Hampshire primary won by Bernie Sanders, Biden told his supporters in South Carolina: "I want you all to think of a number, 99.9 percent.
"That's the percentage of African American voters who have not yet had a chance to vote in America. One more number, 99.8. That's the percent of Latino voters who haven't had the chance to vote.
"So, when you hear all these pundits and experts, cable TV talkers talking about the race, tell them it ain't over, man, we're just getting started," Biden added.
Biden's office has been contacted for comment on the protest.
