President Joe Biden is under scrutiny from key Democratic supporters amidst a pivotal phase in his re-election campaign. Some prominent donors are voicing concerns publicly, indicating they may withhold financial support unless the party considers replacing Biden as its candidate.
This comes after a challenging debate performance last week, which has intensified calls for Biden, aged 81, to consider stepping aside.
As he prepares for crucial events including a primetime TV interview and a rally in Wisconsin on Friday, Biden faces mounting pressure to address doubts about his candidacy raised by instances of faltering during the debate.
While he admitted that he “screwed up” that night, he has vowed to stay on as his party’s standard-bearer taking on Donald Trump in the November presidential election.
Scrutiny on his public appearances has markedly increased since the debate.
In a White House speech to military families on Thursday to mark 4 July Independence Day, he stumbled over his words when referring to Trump as “one of our colleagues, the former president”.
And in an interview with WURD radio in Philadelphia, he lost his thread and appeared to say he was proud to be the first black woman to serve with a black president.
Donors have been weighing their options. Abigail Disney, an heiress to the Disney family fortune, told business news channel CNBC that she did not believe Mr Biden could win against Trump.
She said her intent to pull support was rooted in “realism, not disrespect”.
“Biden is a good man and has served his country admirably, but the stakes are far too high.”
The consequences of defeat in November “will be genuinely dire”, she added.
She joined a select group of wealthy donors who are actively voicing their concerns. Philanthropist Gideon Stein recently disclosed to the New York Times that his family has opted to withhold $3.5 million from various nonprofit and political entities engaged in the presidential campaign unless there is a change in Mr. Biden’s candidacy.
Meanwhile, Hollywood producer Damon Lindelof, known for his substantial donations to Democratic causes this election cycle, penned an impassioned essay in Deadline. In it, he called on fellow donors to join him in pausing their financial contributions until there is a shift in leadership.
Adding to the chorus, Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel, sibling to Barack Obama’s former chief of staff, emphasized during a recent conference in Colorado the strategic importance of withholding financial support to compel Mr. Biden’s exit from the race, according to a report in the Financial Times published on Thursday.
“The lifeblood to a campaign is money, and maybe the only way . . . is if the money starts drying up,” he said, according to the newspaper.