Biden Donors Democrats : The Democratic Party’s perennially nervous donor base was plunged into deep dismay on Friday, as some of America’s wealthiest people lamented President Biden’s poor debate performance and were confused about what, if anything, they could do to change the course of the race. .
There were discussions with political advisers about arcane rules under which Mr. Biden could be removed from the ticket against his will and replaced at or before the Democratic National Convention, according to a person familiar with the effort.
In Silicon Valley, a group of megadonors, including Ron Conway and Lauren Powell Jobs, were calling, texting and emailing each other about what they described as a potential disaster. Donors wondered who in the Biden fold they could contact to reach out to first lady Jill Biden, who in turn could persuade her husband not to run, according to a person familiar with the conversation.
A Silicon Valley donor who had planned to host an intimate fund-raising event this summer featuring Mr. Biden decided not to attend the gathering because of the controversy, according to a person directly informed by the potential host. Another major California donor left the debate watch party early and emailed a friend with the subject line: “Utter disaster,” according to a copy of the email.
In group chats and quiet discussions, some wealthy Democrats launched interventions, others hoped Mr. Biden would have an epiphany and decide to drop out on his own, and even more were strategic about giving dollars to down-ballot candidates. The most optimistic donors wanted to wait for the polls to see the scope of the results.
Crisis in donor class – Interviews with nearly two dozen donors and fundraisers, many of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss their private conversations, indicated that the moment could not have come at a worse time for Mr. Biden. Former President Donald J. Trump has attacked them in each of the past two months, erasing the president’s one-time financial advantage and opening one of his own.
By Friday evening, many donors were coming to terms with the impossibility of finding a viable alternative, though some acknowledged waning enthusiasm and grumbled about the lack of communication with the Biden team’s major fundraisers in the 24 hours since the debate.
Big donors require more maintenance than smaller online donors, but those personal relationships can pay big dividends in critical moments, such as the one Mr. Biden is facing as he weathers a wave of concern among Democrats about his political strength. The donor community is being watched closely for signs of whether it can overcome doubts.
When the Biden campaign briefed some members of its national finance committee Friday morning in Atlanta, other members were surprised to find almost zero outreach from campaign headquarters.
Reid Hoffman, one of the Democratic Party’s most influential donors, wrote in an email to friends Friday evening that he was overwhelmed.
“I have received several emails in the last 24 hours asking if there should be a public campaign to force President Biden to step down after his (very) poor debate performance last night,” he wrote in the email, which was seen by The had come New York Times. “It certainly hurt the mood among donors and organizers.”
Cash is suddenly a priority for the Biden campaign.
After opening up a $100 million advantage over Mr. Trump a few months ago, the Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee entered the bank in June with $212 million, compared with $235 million for the Trump operation and the Republican National Committee.
The Biden campaign hoped to close the gap through a major fundraising push in the 72 hours following the debate. The campaign coincides with a typically exciting end to the second-quarter filing period as there is a rush to raise cash and project momentum.
Mr. Biden’s team held a series of fundraisers on Friday and over the weekend featuring the president and first lady as well as vice president Kamala Harris and celebrities from affluent neighborhoods including Manhattan, the Hamptons and Park City, Utah.
If nothing else, the shaky debate performance cast a shadow over those events and led to concerns about a shrinking Hall.
The Biden campaign played down any financial concerns, announcing that from Thursday through Friday morning it had raised $14 million in online donations, which are typically smaller than those of major donors. The hour after the debate — from 11 p.m. to midnight — was the single best hour of Mr. Biden’s re-election campaign, the campaign said.
Major donors grumbled and strategized in a rolling series of conference calls, text debates and signal chats that began shortly after Mr. Biden took the stage in Atlanta on Thursday evening, and continued late Friday. Some described the communication in tone similar to a virtual group-therapy session.
“This is an immediate response to frustration,” said Craig Kaplan, a lawyer and major Democratic donor in New York.
During a Friday morning Zoom call with major New York donors, Mr. Kaplan urged participants to prioritize giving to congressional and state races.
“The importance of the down ballot is greater,” he said in an interview, given the perceived weakness at the top of the ticket, adding that he did not intend to abandon Mr. Biden.
Stephen Cozen, a Democratic donor who considers the president a friend, said he had tried to talk to donors requesting Biden’s intervention.
“He deserves a chance to reflect and say: ‘I still think I can do this. I still think I’m the best choice,'” or to conclude that it’s not the best choice, Mr. Cozen said of his adviser. said “It is his decision. And I’ll be with him until he does.”
In the upper crust of democratic society, there was a gap between public and private communication.
In public, few were willing to unleash any criticism of the president.
But privately, big donors were mulling over issues that a few days ago seemed like fan fiction, wondering to each other which party elder — Barack Obama? Nancy Pelosi? Chuck Schumer? – There may be political interest in persuading Mr. Biden to stand down.
And they discussed which Democrats might be best to replace Mr. Biden, with Govs. Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer and California’s Gavin Newsom are among the more popular prospects.
Some donors argued that the importance of the debate was being exaggerated.
“His performance was bad,” said former UBS America chairman Robert Wolff, “but a 90-minute debate doesn’t make up for three and a half years of his presidency, so I’m going to stick with Biden there.”
“Now is the time to put our heads down and fight as hard as we can,” said Chris Korg, finance chairman of the Biden Victory Fund. “Donors will never give up on Biden,” he added.
Mr. Hoffman, effectively the leader of the Silicon Valley Democrats, said he believed it was a mistake to push Mr. Biden because it wouldn’t work. “Joe is our nominee; Any decision to separate is up to him and his family, period,” he wrote. “If anything, the public effort could force the Bidens to try to prove the doubters wrong.”
Biden fund-raisers were hearing from plenty of people — one received a Facebook message from a business school friend he hadn’t heard from in a decade — but precious little from the campaign itself. Around noon Thursday, members of the Biden financial brain trust descended on Atlanta for what was expected to be a farewell ceremony, the summer meeting of the several hundred-strong National Finance Committee.
Fundraisers at the Atlanta Ritz-Carlton were treated to presentations on campaign strategies and issues, according to materials distributed to donors in advance, plus a panel discussion. But many members of the Finance Committee — away on vacation, unable to attend an audience-free debate or unable to do so on short notice — skipped the meeting altogether.
Meanwhile, the president and first lady tried to project normalcy to donors.
On Friday afternoon, Jill Biden was in New York for a reception titled “Writers, Wit and Wisdom” while Ms. Harris was in Park City for her own high-dollar event. Mark Gilbert, a Democratic fund-raiser who hosted her in Park City, said the debate didn’t dampen spirits.
“Not only were there no cancellations, we had numerous calls asking if it was too late to attend,” Mr Gilbert said.
Mr. Biden himself appeared in Manhattan on Friday with Elton John at the Stonewall Inn, followed by an LGBTQ-focused fund-raiser at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan Center. On Saturday, he was set to travel to the Hamptons for an event at the home of billionaire Barry Rosenstein, who he said was preparing for more than 200 attendees, more than double his expectations. Later on Saturday, Mr. Biden was scheduled to attend a fund-raiser at the home of New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy.
Biden’s fundraiser has come at the end of Pride month, filled with cameos from celebrities and people with ties to the LGBTQ movement, including a garden party in Los Angeles on Saturday that featured a performance by Idina Menzel.
Still, Friday ended without a clear sense of what exactly donors might do about Mr. Biden. The best some could muster was gallows humor—a meme, a GIF, or a sense that things could always be worse.
Steve Phillips, a prominent California Democratic donor, said, “No one is bailing out. “Everyone is resigned to the situation.”
Lorraine Hirsch, Liam Stack And Olivia Bensimon Contribution report.