Anamika Dey, editor
News in brief
Abigail Disney, granddaughter of Roy O. Disney, has announced that she will withhold payments to the Democratic Party unless President Joe Biden withdraws from the presidential race. The Democratic Party has been panicked since Biden failed in the debate against former President Donald Trump, with Rep. Lloyd Doggett urging Biden to withdraw. Disney has long supported Democrats, providing $50,000 to the Jane Fonda Climate PAC in April and spending over $400,000 on Democrats this election year, including $26,000 for Biden. She suggested Vice President Kamala Harris could defeat Trump instead of Biden. Moriah Fund head Gideon Stein has paused $3.5 million in planned donations to presidential-aligned groups and political organizations. Karla Jurvetson, a philanthropist and prominent Democratic fundraiser, has also expressed support for halting gifts until Biden stands down and may do so.
News in detail
The Democratic Party is losing support from wealthy donors, including a Disney heiress, who are demanding that President Joe Biden withdraw out of the presidential race after his poor debate performance.
The granddaughter of Roy O. Disney, who cofounded The Walt Disney Company, told CNBC on Thursday that she will withhold payments to the party she has backed for years unless Biden pulls out. Despite calls to quit, the president remains in the contest.
I won’t donate to the party until Biden is replaced. This is realistic, not contempt. In a lengthy statement to CNBC, Abigail Disney said Biden is a wonderful man who has served his nation well, but the stakes are too high. Biden must resign or Democrats will lose. I know for sure. Losing will have dire consequences.”
Since Biden failed in the debate against former President Donald Trump last week, the Democratic Party has panicked. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, urged Biden to withdraw out, saying the debate showed voters that the president cannot challenge Trump and overcome his poll lead.
After the debate, a New York Times/Sienna College survey found Biden 6 points behind Trump among potential voters.
No Biden campaign representative responded to requests for comment.
Abigail Disney has long supported Democrats. The Federal Election Commission said she provided $50,000 to the Jane Fonda Climate PAC in April. OpenSecrets shows the PAC gave $35,000 to congressional Democrats.
According to OpenSecrets, Disney gave Planned Parenthood Votes $150,000 in 2014. This election year, that PAC has spent over $400,000 on Democrats, including $26,000 for Biden.
Disney suggested Vice President Kamala Harris could defeat Trump instead of Biden.
Our Vice President is great. Disney said we could win this election by a lot if Democrats would tolerate her perceived shortcomings even one tenth as much as they have tolerated Biden’s (and let’s not kid ourselves about where race and gender figure in that inequity) and stop quibbling and rally around her.
She’s not alone in withholding gifts till Biden leaves. Moriah Fund head Gideon Stein said he’s paused $3.5 million in planned donations to presidential-aligned groups and political organisations.
“Joe Biden has been a very effective president, but unless he steps aside my family and I are pausing on more than $3 million in planned donations to nonprofits and political organisations aligned with the presidential race, with the exception of some down ballot work,” Stein stated “Almost every major donor I’ve talked to believes we need a new candidate to defeat Donald Trump.”
A source said Karla Jurvetson, a philanthropist and prominent Democratic fundraiser, intimated Tuesday in a private donor call that she supports halting gifts until Biden stands down and may do so. Anonymity allowed the person to discuss a private chat.
A Jurvetson representative did not respond to repeated inquiries.
This campaign, Jurvetson donated nearly $5 million to Democrats, ranking among the top 50 donors nationwide, according to OpenSecrets. According to FEC records, she gave over $200,000 to the Biden Victory Fund this season.
Data shows Jurvetson contributed Democrats over $30 million in 2020.
Source : CNBC News
