The money problems for the Biden campaign appear to be going from bad to worse.
Earlier in the week, several reports discussed how the Biden campaign had begun to take drastic actions as small donations to the president’s reelection campaign began to dry up following his debate debacle.
Now, it looks like the big money is abandoning him too.
The New York Times writes that some of the biggest power players in Democrat politics have begun withholding funds from Biden’s super PAC, Future Forward, as liberals billionaires look to push the president out.
The frozen contributions include multiple eight-figure commitments, according to the two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation. The decision to withhold such enormous sums of money is one of the most concrete examples of the fallout from Mr. Biden’s poor debate performance at the end of June.
Future Forward declined to comment on any conversations with donors or the amounts of any pledged money being withheld. A Future Forward adviser would say only that the group expected contributors who had paused donations to return once the current uncertainty about the ticket was resolved.
Separately, one donor to the group described being approached multiple times by Future Forward since the debate for a contribution, but said he and his friends had been “holding off.”
The two people briefed on the frozen pledges declined to say which individual donors were pulling back promised checks, which were estimated to total around or above $90 million. It was not clear how much of the pledged money was earmarked for Future Forward’s super PAC versus its nonprofit arm, which has also been running advertising in key battleground states. The super PAC has been shying away from making major strategic decisions until it gets clarity on who will be atop the ticket, according to a separate person close to the group.
The announcement comes as Hollywood, a favorite spot for liberals to fundraise, has turned its back on Biden.
“The concerns over his age have some faithful A-list donors in one of the most liberal corners of the US turning their back on Mr Biden, with several publicly withdrawing their support and calling for him to be replaced,” noted The BBC.
“Even before George Clooney, a prominent Democratic fundraiser, authored a damaging opinion piece calling for Mr Biden to step aside as the party’s candidate, novelist and screenwriter Ayelet Waldman stopped donating to liberal candidates up and down the ballot in protest.
‘I’ve always donated. I’ve always donated more than I can afford,’ she told the BBC. ‘But this is the first time I have ever decided to stop donating up and down the ballot as a means of indicating my – I think displeasure isn’t the right word – absolute, gut-curdling panic.’
Ms Waldman was inspired by the screenwriter Damon Lindelof who on 3 July wrote a guest column in the industry publication Deadline, urging Democrats to ‘stop giving money’ to all candidates until President Biden steps away from the race.”
Saying, “The checks are what get us in the room where it happens. I wish that wasn’t true. I wish it was strength of character or viability of ideas. But it’s checks. Checks all the way down,” Lindelof has encouraged Hollywood to no longer give Democrats money until Biden gets booted.
“There is a choice before us and the choice is this – Do we leave our pitcher on the mound or do we go to the bullpen for relief?
Our president’s debate performance has been characterized in many ways; disappointing, upsetting, terrifying… but for me it was simply game-changing. So yes, let’s go with the bullpen please. Let’s go with relief.”
If Biden refuses? The Hollywood writer argues for what he’s labeled a “DEMbargo. No checks written. No ActBlue links clicked. For anyone” and went as far as comparing the Democratic Party to a rogue nation. He explained: “When a country is not behaving how we want them to, we apply harsh economic sanctions. It’s a give and take — Short term hurt for long term healing.”
It might soon be time for Biden to start checking under the seat cushions at the White House if he wants to stay president.
Steve Turley had this right. Democrat civil war is erupting — Donors vs. Delegates. This is going to be fun to watch: it has all the accoutrements of a WWE match.
Quit funding a Lost Cause