- Donors pressure Biden after debate
- Biden commits to 2024 campaign
- Trump leads in recent polls
President Joe Biden is under pressure from some key Democratic donors as he prepares for a critical few days in his reelection campaign.
A handful of contributors have publicly stated that they will withhold donations unless Mr Biden is replaced as the party’s nominee following his dismal debate performance last week.
Friday is a critical day for the president as he attempts to strengthen his candidature with a rare primetime TV interview and a rally in Wisconsin.
Pressure on Mr Biden, 81, to step down has increased following a debate highlighted by multiple moments in which he lost his train of thought.
While he recognised that he “screwed up” that night, he has promised to continue as his party’s standard-bearer in the November presidential election against Donald Trump.
Since the discussion, his public appearances have come under heightened scrutiny.
In a White House speech to military families on Thursday to commemorate 4 July Independence Day, Obama fumbled over his words while referring to Trump as “one of our colleagues, the former president.
In an interview with WURD radio in Philadelphia, he lost his focus and appeared to remark he was proud to be the first black woman to serve with a black president.
Donors have been considering their options. Abigail Disney, an heir to the Disney family fortune, told business news channel CNBC that she did not think Biden could beat Trump.
She stated that her decision to withdraw support was motivated by “realism, not disrespect.
“Biden is a good man who has served his nation admirably, but the risks are simply too great.”The consequences of defeat in November will be truly dire,” she added.
With her warning, she joined a few other affluent benefactors.
Philanthropist Gideon Stein warned the New York Times that his family would withhold $3.5 million (£2.8 million) from non-profit and political organisations involved in the presidential contest until Mr Biden stepped down.
Damon Lindelof, a Hollywood producer who has given more than $100,000 to Democrats this election season, penned a public essay in Deadline imploring fellow contributors to postpone their contributions until things change.
According to the Financial Times, the brother of Barack Obama’s former chief of staff, Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel, told a conference in Colorado that withholding financing was critical to ensure Mr Biden’s resignation from the race.
According to the publication, “the lifeblood to a campaign is money, and maybe the only way . . is if the money starts drying up,” he remarked.
Ramesh Kapur, a Massachusetts-based Indian-American industrialist, has been organising Democratic fundraisers since 1988.
“I think it’s time for him to pass the torch,” Mr Kapur said this week. I know he has the drive, but you can’t fight Mother Nature.
Some people are concerned that there isn’t enough time for a new contender to enter the race, so they’ve opted to support Biden if he stays.
Who declined to be named, said he planned to hold a fundraiser for the president later this month at his Virginia home.
The Biden team reported raising $38 million from debate day to the weekend, primarily through small donations, for a total of $127 million in June alone.
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They admit he had a difficult debate but say he is eager to demonstrate to the people that he has the stamina for the campaign.
On Friday morning, they unveiled a new “aggressive travel schedule” in which he, his wife, Vice-President Kamala Harris, and her husband would visit every battleground state.
He will begin his campaign with a rally in Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday alongside Governor Tony Evers.
Following that event, he is slated to appear on ABC, his first broadcast interview since the debate, in an attempt to alleviate worries about his age and mental abilities.
However, the president is facing a succession of negative polls that show his Republican rival’s lead has grown in the aftermath of the Atlanta debate.
According to a New York Times survey published on Wednesday, Trump now has his largest lead to date, at six points.
