Biden Doubles Down As Donors Question Campaign: ‘I Don’t Care What The Billionaires Think’
In a call with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Biden claimed he was confident “the average voter out there” still wants to see him in the race against former President Donald Trump, even as a group of at least five sitting House Democrats call on him to end his campaign, and as multiple polls show Biden’s support slipping in a head-to-head rematch with Trump.
When asked about billionaires questioning his re-election bid, Biden claimed most of his campaign contributions fall below the $200 mark, arguing he wants billionaires to support him, but adding, “that’s not the reason I’m running.”
Billionaire Democrats and Trump critics have increasingly called on Biden to step down after the president’s lethargic debate performance on CNN late last month, a 90-minute back-and-forth marked by Biden’s raspy and whispery voice, vocal gaffes and several incoherent remarks, though Biden and his campaign have claimed the poor performance was the result of a cold and extensive travel, and were not part of a larger condition, as some Democrats have speculated.
Over the past week, those calls to step down have come from billionaire IAC founder Barry Diller (worth $4.1 billion, according to Forbes), Walmart heir Christy Walton ($15.2 billion), crypto mogul Michael Novogratz ($2.5 billion) and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings ($4.8 billion), while “Shark Tank” host and Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban ($5.4 billion) pushed for increased polling to determine which potential Biden replacement could beat Trump in November.
WHO COULD REPLACE BIDEN, AND HOW WOULD THAT PROCESS WORK?
A group of Democratic alternates have emerged since the debate, though none of them have formally announced a bid, while some have flat out rejected the notion—and some Democrats have argued finding a replacement could stir chaos within the party and tip the scales to Trump in November. Among speculated Democrats replacements are Vice President Kamala Harris, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Illinois Gov. J.D. Pritzker. One issue for Democrats, however, is that those Democrats underperform in polls. The only one of them who polled better than Biden in a head-to-head match with Trump was First Lady Michelle Obama, who outperformed Trump 50%-39% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted after the debate, over Biden’s 40%-40% tie to Trump in the poll, and Harris’ 42%-43% deficit to Trump. Replacing Biden could also result in the resurrection of an old-fashioned open convention method of selecting a nominee on the floor of the Democratic National Convention in August, though the exact format of that operation is not yet clear, and it has not been used since 1968.
WHAT HAPPENS WITH BIDEN’S CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS IF HE DROPS OUT?
If Biden drops out of the race, his roughly $91 million in campaign donations could be funneled to Harris to use in a 2024 bid, though if another nominee is selected, the process of channeling donations to them could become tricky. In that scenario, Biden could divert contributions to a new candidate, though he would be limited by campaign finance laws, which only allow for the transfer of up to $2,000 to another federal campaign, meaning most of his campaign contributions would likely go to political action committees. That funding would be transferred without limits to a PAC, which could in turn use it to support a replacement candidate or put the money toward down-ballot races.
KEY BACKGROUND
Biden doubled down once again on his commitment to his reelection campaign in a letter to Democratic lawmakers on Monday, though his support from Democrats has slipped substantially in the wake of his rocky debate performance on CNN, as some pundits, megadonors and a growing group of House Democrats have called on Biden to pass the torch to another Democrat. The editorial boards of several major publications have also called on him to step down. In the nearly two weeks that followed, Biden has spoken more forcefully on the campaign trail, admitting at one campaign stop he doesn’t “debate as well” as he used to, and vowing to remain in the race, claiming he believes he can still defeat Trump, even as polls indicate otherwise (Trump leads Biden 42.1% to 39.9%, according to FiveThirtyEight’s weighted polling average). In his first televised post-debate interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos Friday night, Biden argued once again his rocky debate was only a “bad episode,” and not the result of a mental or physical condition, rejecting speculation on his declining mental acuity, including from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Biden doubled down on his claim he was sick during the debate, admitting he “wasn’t in control” at the event, even after weeks of preparation. He also rejected a cognitive and neurological test, arguing the job of presidency amounts to a daily cognitive test, saying: “every day I have that test.”
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