Democratic donors say they won’t fund the party until he drops out

Chairperson Joe Biden is facing rebellion from some wealthy people in his party. Donorsincluding an heir of Disney family fortune, who said they would no longer fund Democratic Party until Biden dropped out of the presidential race after a disastrous debate performance.

Abigail DisneyThe granddaughter of Walt Disney Co. co-founder Roy O. Disney told CNBC on Thursday that she plans to withhold donations to the party she has been donating to for years until Biden drops out. The president has said he has no plans to drop out of the race, despite calls for him to do so.

“I intend to stop all contributions to the party unless and until they replace Biden at the top. This is realism, not disrespect. Biden is a good man and has served our country admirably, but the stakes are too high,” Abigail Disney said in a lengthy statement to CNBC. “If Biden does not resign, the Democrats will lose. I am absolutely certain of that. The consequences of that loss will be truly catastrophic.”

Democrats in general have been in a state of panic since Biden struggled to perform in the debate against former President Donald Trump last week. Representative Lloyd DoggettThe Texas Democratic Party, which called on Biden to drop out of the race, said the debate performance demonstrated to voters that the president was incapable of taking on Trump and could not overcome his gap in the polls.

A New York Times/Sienna College probe Post-debate photos show Biden trailing Trump by 6 percentage points among likely voters.

Representatives for the Biden campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

Abigail Disney is a longtime supporter of Democrats. She gave $50,000 to Jane Fonda’s Climate Action PAC in April, according to Federal Election Commission filings. The PAC has given $35,000 to Democrats running for congressional seats, according to data from OpenSecrets.

Disney gave $150,000 in 2014 to Planned Parenthood Votes, a PAC affiliated with the health care nonprofit, according to OpenSecrets. That PAC has spent more than $400,000 supporting Democrats this election cycle, including $26,000 to Biden.

Disney pointed to Vice President Kamala Harris as a solid alternative to Biden, arguing she would be able to beat Trump.

“We have a great Vice President. If Democrats tolerate her perceived shortcomings even a tenth as much as Biden’s (and let’s not kid ourselves about how race and gender play a role in that inequality) and if Democrats can find a way to stop bickering and rally around her, we can win this election by a landslide,” Disney said.

And she’s not the only one pausing her giving until Biden steps down. Gideon Stein, president of the Moriah Foundation, said he has decided to pause $3.5 million in planned donations to nonprofits and political organizations affiliated with the presidential race.

“Joe Biden is a very effective president, but unless he resigns, my family and I will be pausing more than $3 million in planned donations to nonprofits and political organizations affiliated with the presidential race, with the exception of some polling work,” Stein said. “Almost every major donor I’ve spoken to believes we need a new candidate to defeat Donald Trump.”

Karla Jurvetson, a philanthropist and major Democratic donor, hinted as recently as Tuesday on a call with private donors that she agreed with the idea of ​​holding off on donations until Biden resigned and might make such a move, according to a person familiar with her remarks. That person was granted anonymity so she could speak freely about a private conversation.

A spokesman for Jurvetson did not respond to a request for comment.

Jurvetson is among the top 50 donors this cycle nationwide, donating more than $5 million to Democrats, according to Open the secretAccording to FEC filings, she has donated more than $200,000 to the Biden Victory Fund this election cycle.

Jurvetson donated more than $30 million to Democrats in 2020, according to the data.