During his first debate with Donald Trump at the end of June, Joe Biden appeared very tired but said he wanted to continue the campaign. However, some in his camp, such as the Disney heiress, suggested that he give way to Kamara Harris.
Published
Reading time: 3 min
:quality(50)/2024/07/05/dpaphotosseven283553-66882246a3973276231043.jpg)
Walt Disney’s granddaughter and heir announced on CNBC on Thursday, July 4, 2024, that she may suspend her donations to the Democratic Party until Joe Biden withdraws from the presidential campaign. Abigail Disney, “filmmaker and philanthropist,” explains that “It’s not a lack of respect” but “realism”. She admits that “Biden is a good man who has served his country admirably” but, according to her, if he does not resign, “The Democrats will lose”.
During her speech, Abigail Disney suggested a possible replacement for the president: his vice president, Kamala Harris. “If Democrats could find a way to stop dithering and rally behind her, we could win this election by a landslide.”. She adds : “Let us not delude ourselves about the place of sex and race,” in that case.
The Guardianwho published a very detailed article on this subject, explains that Abigail Disney inherited the Disney fortune and has been a major donor for years. But she represents only a small part of the donors, and not all of them are on this line. However, a little music is setting in, doubts, which at first expressed discreetly, now sometimes become public.
Thus, Damon Lindelof, an American screenwriter, creator of Lost, also conditions its donations on Joe Biden’s withdrawal. This choice, he writes, “It’s short-term pain, for long-term healing”. Another example with precise figures. Gideon Stein, head of a private family foundation, is putting on hold the $3.5 million he planned to give to organizations linked to the race for the White House. The co-founder of Netflix, one of the biggest donors to the Democratic Party, is also asking Joe Biden to step down.
Faced with this pressure, Democrats are holding firm. Joe Biden says in public: “I am thoroughly” in the campaign. His team assures that there is no thought engaged on ending it. The watchword is therefore to close ranks. This support from donors is a key, a valuable indicator for Democrats. Joe Biden has personally attended several fundraisers since the debate against Donald Trump. His campaign team has also claimed that donations increased during this debate, and even after.
To explain his condition during the televised debate, Joe Biden told donors that it was not “very clever” having “traveled around the world several times, shortly before this confrontation” and that this had led him to “almost fell asleep on stage”. So nothing has been decided yet, and tonight, a highly anticipated interview with Joe Biden will be broadcast on ABC.