Tipsheet

Biden's Top Donor Base Is Imploding

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  July 04, 2024 7:45 PM

The calls the Biden campaign had with top donors did not go well. Reports are that the campaign went full-North Korea, claiming Biden is in top shape while also dismissing any concern about his mental health following the president’s nightmare debate on June 27. 

The president has resisted calls to drop out. Another layer of pressure was added by Biden’s top donor base, who are now refusing to cut more checks until Joe steps aside. One of those people is Abigail Disney. The Magic Kingdom has declared war (via CNBC): 

President Joe Biden is facing an uprising from some his own party’s wealthy donors, including an heiress to the Disney family fortune, who say they will no longer fund the Democratic Party until Biden drops out of the presidential race following his disastrous debate performance. 

Abigail Disney, the granddaughter to Roy O. Disney, who cofounded The Walt Disney Company, told CNBC on Thursday that she plans to withhold donations to the party she has funded for years until Biden drops out. The president has said he has no plans to withdraw from the race, despite calls for him to do so. 

“I intend to stop any contributions to the party unless and until they replace Biden at the top of the ticket.  This is realism, not disrespect. Biden is a good man and has served his country admirably, but the stakes are far too high,” Abigail Disney said in a lengthy statement to CNBC. “If Biden does not step down the Democrats will lose. Of that I am absolutely certain. The consequences for the loss will be genuinely dire.” 

The Democratic Party at large has been in a state of panic since Biden struggled to perform in the debate against former President Donald Trump last week. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, called on Biden to drop out of the race, suggesting the debate performance proved to voters that the president is incapable of taking on Trump and unable to overcome his distance in the polls.

Congressional Democrats want Biden to go, Democratic governors want him to stay, 66 percent of Democratic voters want him to stay, and the top donors want him to step aside. It’s civil war. It might not be high intensity, but we may have a fracturing here, unlike anything since 1968. As this debate rages, the Obama coalition is also fraying, moving decidedly away from Democrats, especially among black voters and young people. The heavy lifting Biden must do to convince his donors, congressional leadership, and other top allies alone will be taxing. This comeback will need someone with vigor and political skill. Biden doesn’t possess such qualities—he never did. It also must be from someone who can function for more than six hours. Biden began to slide after 4pm and even told a gathering of Democratic governors that he needed to sleep more and work less.