Top Democratic Donor Halts All Funding Until Biden Is Removed: 'This Is Realism, Not Disrespect'
A longtime financial supporter of the Democratic Party is withholding all donations, vowing to only give after the removal of President Joe Biden from his own ticket.
Abigail Disney, granddaughter of Walt Disney Co. co-founder Roy Disney, told CNBC of her new position on Thursday.
The move deprives Democrats of a household last name and highlights the growing fallout from Biden’s debate disaster.
“I intend to stop any contributions to the party unless and until they replace Biden at the top of the ticket,” Disney said. “This is realism, not disrespect.
“Biden is a good man and has served his country admirably, but the stakes are far too high.”
In the June 27 showdown between Biden and his 2024 election opponent former President Donald Trump, the sitting 81-year-old president suffered a series of worrying mental lapses and gave seemingly incoherent answers.
The fallout from this first presidential debate was immediate, with many within the Democratic Party itself calling for Biden to be replaced as the primary candidate on the ticket.
Reports indicate that party insiders are leaning toward Biden’s running mate Vice President Kamala Harris as the top candidate for a revamped 2024 campaign. Harris is the only person who can inherit both the campaign’s existing infrastructure and $91.2 million war chest.
Abigail Disney seems to recognize the grave danger of letting Biden continue on the ticket.
“If Biden does not step down, the Democrats will lose,” the heiress said. “Of that I am absolutely certain. The consequences for the loss will be genuinely dire.”
Disney is no lightweight donor.
Since the early 1990s, Disney has contributed over a million dollars toward Democratic candidates and progressive causes, according to records held by OpenSecrets.
The heiress suggested Harris be considered, saying if the party “would tolerate any of her perceived shortcomings even one tenth as much as they have tolerated Biden’s” and rally around her, the election would be a sure win.
Unfortunately for Democrats, Disney is not the only heavy hitter pulling support over Biden.
“Joe Biden has been a very effective president,” Moriah Fund President Gideon Stein told CNBC, “but unless he steps aside, my family and I are pausing on more than $3 million in planned donations to nonprofits and political organizations aligned with the presidential race, with the exception of some down ballot work.
“Virtually every major donor I’ve talked to believes that we need a new candidate in order to defeat Donald Trump.”
CNBC reported, philanthropist Karla Jurvetson, responsible for $30 million in contributions to Democrats in 2020, is agreeable to the growing embargo over Biden and may soon make a similar decision with her own fortune.
Considering how Biden’s debate disaster is now throwing even blue strongholds into play, Democrats will need a new candidate and every dollar they can get their hands on.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
