The Democratic Party’s ever-nervous donor class was plunged into deep unease Friday as some of America’s wealthiest people commiserated over President Biden’s weak debate performance and wondered what, if anything, they could do to change the course of the race.
There were discussions with political advisers about arcane rules under which Biden could be removed from the field 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 mega-donors, including Ron Conway and Laurene Powell Jobs, were calling, texting and emailing each other about a situation they described as a potential catastrophe. Donors wondered who in the Biden fold they could contact to reach out to Jill Biden, the first lady, who in turn could persuade her husband not to run, according to a person familiar with the conversations.
A Silicon Valley donor who had planned to host an intimate fundraiser with Biden this summer decided not to go ahead with the meeting because of the debate, according to a person who was told directly by the potential host. Another major donor from California left a debate-watching party early and sent an email to a friend with the subject line: “Total disaster,” according to a copy of the email.
In group chats and hushed discussions, some wealthy Democrats floated interventions, others hoped Biden would have an epiphany and decide to go out on his own, and still more strategized to divert dollars to unvoted candidates. The most optimistic donors wanted to wait for the polls to see the extent of the fallout.
The crisis in the donor class, described in interviews with nearly two dozen donors and fundraisers, many of whom insisted on anonymity to discuss their private conversations, could not come at a worse time for Biden. Former President Donald J. Trump has outraised him in each of the past two months, erasing the president’s once-massive financial lead and opening one of his own.
By Friday night, many donors were coming to terms with the unlikelihood of finding a viable alternative, even as some acknowledged waning enthusiasm and complained about the Biden team’s lack of communication with top fundraisers in the 24 hours after the debate.
Compared to small online donors, large donors require more maintenance, but those personal relationships can pay big dividends at crucial moments, like the one Biden faces as he faces a wave of concern from Democrats about his political strength. The donor class is being watched closely for signs of whether it can overcome doubts.
While the Biden campaign briefed some members of his national finance committee Friday morning in Atlanta, other members were aghast at having received almost no communication from campaign headquarters.
Reid Hoffman, one of the Democratic Party’s most influential donors, wrote in an email to friends Friday night that he had been overwhelmed.
“I have received many emails in the last 24 hours wondering if there should be a public campaign to pressure President Biden to resign after his (very) poor performance in last night’s debate,” he wrote in the email, which was viewed by The New York Times. “This certainly dealt a blow to morale among donors and organizers.”
Cash is a sudden priority for the Biden campaign.
After building a $100 million lead over Trump a couple of months ago, the Biden campaign and Democratic National Committee entered June with $212 million in the bank, compared with $235 million for the Trump-Republican National Committee operation.
Biden’s campaign hoped to close the gap through a major fundraising effort within 72 hours of the debate. The fight coincided with the typically lucrative end of the second-quarter filing period, when campaigns rush to raise cash and build momentum for projects.
Biden’s team planned a series of fundraisers on Friday and over the weekend that included the president and first lady, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris and celebrities in wealthy enclaves such as Manhattan, the Hamptons and Park City, Utah.
At the very least, the debate’s shaky performance cast a shadow over those events and raised concerns about declining pitches.
Biden’s campaign rejected any financial concerns and announced that as of Thursday through Friday morning it had raised $14 million in online donations, which are typically smaller than those from major donors. The hour after the debate, from 11 p.m. to midnight, was the best hour of Biden’s re-election campaign, the campaign said. Combining the online rush with the benefits of in-person events, the campaign said it had raised a total of $27 million from the day of the debate through Friday night.
Major donors’ grievances and strategies unfolded in an ongoing series of conference calls, text debates and Signal chats that began shortly after Biden opened his mouth on stage in Atlanta on Thursday night and continued through Friday. at night. Some described the communications in tones that sounded like a virtual group therapy session.
“This is an immediate response to a disappointment,” said Craig Kaplan, a lawyer and major Democratic donor in New York.
During a weekly Zoom call Friday morning with top New York donors, Kaplan urged participants to prioritize donations for state and congressional elections.
“The importance of the negative vote is increased,” he said in an interview, due to the perception of weakness at the top of the ballot. He added that he had no intention of abandoning Biden.
Stephen Cozen, a Democratic donor who considers the president a friend, said he had tried to dissuade donors urging a Biden intervention.
“He deserves the opportunity to reflect and say, ‘I still think I can do this. I still think I’m the best choice,’” or conclude that he’s not the best choice, Cozen said, recounting her advice. “That’s his decision. And I’m going to stick with him until he gets it done.”
At the top layer of democratic society there was a gap between public and private communications.
Publicly, few were willing to tolerate any criticism of the president.
But privately, major donors were mulling over issues that just a few days ago seemed like fan fiction, asking each other which party elder: Barack Obama? Nancy Pelosi? Chuck Schumer? – could have the political power to persuade Biden to resign.
And they debated which Democrat might be best to replace Biden, with the governors. Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer and California’s Gavin Newsom are among the hottest prospects.
Some donors argued that the importance of the debate was being exaggerated.
“He performed poorly,” said Robert Wolf, former president of UBS Americas, “but a 90-minute debate doesn’t make up for three and a half years of his presidency, so I’ll be there fighting for Biden.”
Chris Korge, chief financial officer of the Biden Victory Fund, said “now is the time to put our heads down and fight as hard as we can.” He added: “Donors will never give up on Biden.”
Hoffman, effectively the leader of Silicon Valley Democrats, said he believed it was a mistake to pressure Biden, in part because it wouldn’t work. “Joe is our nominee; Any decision to step aside is up to him and his family, period,” he wrote. “If anything, a public effort could force the Bidens to try to prove the doubters wrong.”
Biden’s fundraisers heard from a lot of people (one received a Facebook message from a business school friend he hadn’t heard from in more than a decade), but very little from the campaign itself. Around noon Thursday, members of Biden’s financial think tank arrived in Atlanta for what was expected to be a farewell meeting, the summer meeting of the several hundred-member National Finance Committee.
Fundraisers at the Atlanta Ritz-Carlton were treated to presentations on campaign tactics and issues, according to materials distributed to donors in advance, as well as a report from the debate. But many members of the finance committee, who were on vacation, deterred by the impossibility of attending the debate without an audience or by not being able to attend on short notice, skipped the meeting altogether.
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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 Harris was in Park City for her own big-ticket event. Mark Gilbert, a Democratic fundraiser who hosted her in Park City, said the debate hadn’t dampened enthusiasm.
“Not only were there no cancellations, but we received numerous calls asking if it was too late to attend,” Mr. Gilbert said.
Biden himself appeared Friday in Manhattan with Elton John at the Stonewall Inn, followed by an LGBTQ-focused fundraiser at the Manhattan Center’s Hammerstein Ballroom. On Saturday, he was scheduled to travel to the Hamptons for an event at the home of billionaire Barry Rosenstein, who said he was preparing for more than 200 attendees — more than double his expectations. Later Saturday, Biden was scheduled to attend a fundraiser at the home of Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey.
Biden’s fundraiser at the end of Pride Month is packed with cameos from celebrities and people with ties to the LGBTQ movement, including a garden party Saturday in Los Angeles with a performance by Idina Menzel.
Still, Friday ended with no clear idea of what exactly donors could do about Biden. The best some could muster was dark humor: a meme, a GIF, or the feeling that things could always be worse.
“Nobody is going to back out,” said Steve Phillips, a prominent Democratic donor in California. “Everyone is resigned to the situation.”
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