President Joe Biden is facing pressure from some major Democratic donors as he faces critical days in his re-election campaign.
Many donors have publicly warned that they would withhold funds unless Biden is replaced as the party’s nominee after his disastrous debate performance last week.
They include Abigail Disney, heiress to the Disney family fortune, Hollywood producer Damon Lindelof, Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel and philanthropist and entrepreneur Gideon Stein.
Biden is seeking to solidify his candidacy this weekend, including a rare prime-time television interview on Friday and a rally in Wisconsin.
Pressure mounted on Biden, 81, to step down after he repeatedly lost his train of thought and struggled to understand himself during a debate.
While he admitted he “screwed up” that night, he vowed to remain his party’s standard-bearer and take on Donald Trump in November’s presidential election.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he told a White House rally Thursday in the United States to mark July 4, Independence Day.
Ms. Disney told US business news channel CNBC that she did not believe Biden could defeat Trump in November.
She said her intention to drum up support was rooted in “realism, not disrespect.”
“Biden is a good man who has served his country admirably, but the stakes are too high,” said Ms. Disney, who has supported many Democrats and Democratic causes over the years.
“If Biden doesn’t step down, the Democratic Party will lose. I’m absolutely sure of that. The consequences of the loss will be dire.
At her warning, she joined a number of other wealthy donors.
Mr. Stan tell the new york times Unless Biden steps down, his family will withhold $3.5m (£2.8m) from non-profits and political organizations active in the presidential campaign.
Lindelof, who has donated more than $100,000 to Democrats this election cycle, wrote a public post urging other donors to withhold funds, which he called “DEMbargo.”
“When they text you asking for cash, you text back and say you won’t give them a penny and you won’t change your mind until you find the change.” Mr Lindelof wrote in Deadline.
Emanuel, the brother of former Barack Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, told a conference in Colorado, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. Withholding funds is key to ensuring Biden exits the race.
“The lifeblood of a campaign is money, and maybe the only way… is if the money starts to dry up.” He said, according to the newspaper.
“You will see in the next few weeks whether the funding is available…” . I talked to a group of big donors who are moving all their money to Congress and the Senate.
Some other major donors have not threatened to cut funding but are putting public pressure on the president to withdraw.
Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix and one of the largest donors to the Democratic Party, told US media that Biden “needs to step aside and allow a dynamic Democratic leader to defeat Trump and ensure that we security and prosperity.”
Others have expressed concern that if Biden does leave, the race to succeed him could be disruptive and chaotic.
Ramesh Kapur is an Indian-American industrialist from Massachusetts who has organized fundraisers for the Democratic Party since 1988.
“I think it’s time for him to pass on the torch,” Mr Kapoor told the BBC this week. “I know he’s motivated, but you can’t fight Mother Nature.”
“From what I know about him, he will decide what is good for the country,” he added.
Some worried there wouldn’t be enough time for new candidates to join the race and decided to back Biden if he remained in office.
An unnamed large donor interviewed by the BBC this week said he plans to continue holding a fundraiser for the president, scheduled for later this month at his home in Virginia.
“We all want to keep Donald Trump out of the White House, and that might bring us together,” he said.
The Biden campaign said it raised $38 million from debate day through the weekend, mostly through small donations, with $127 million raised in June alone.
The Biden team and the president acknowledged he had a tough debate but said he was ready to show the public he had the stamina to campaign.
On Friday, he plans to give an interview to ABC, his first televised interview since the debate, to help calm concerns about his age and intelligence.
He will also travel to Madison, Wisconsin, to campaign with Gov. Tony Evers.
But the president faces a slew of negative polls that show his Republican rivals’ lead widening after the Atlanta debate.
A New York Times poll released on Wednesday showed that Trump currently maintains his largest lead to date, with a 6-point advantage.
Another poll released by CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, showed a slight shift in Trump’s support, with him leading Biden by three points in key battleground states.
Brajesh Upadhyay contributed to this report