Disney heiress withdraws donations to Democrats until Biden is replaced

The heiress to the Disney fortune has withdrawn her financial support for Joe Biden amid the establishment of fundraising groups to back alternative candidates.

Filmmaker Abigail E Disney said that the Democrats would “not receive a single dime” until they “bite the bullet” and replace Mr Biden.

“Biden is a good man who has served his country well, but the stakes are far too high to allow timidity to determine our course of action,” Ms Disney, who has long been a major Democratic donor, wrote in an email exchange, according to the New York Times.

Mr Biden is under increasing pressure to stand aside in the race for president as polls show a slump in support following his shambolic debate with Donald Trump last week.

The 81-year-old president on Thursday said that he was “going nowhere” in events celebrating the 4th of July holiday, but again appeared to lose track of his thoughts.

In a radio interview, Mr Biden said he was proud to be the “first black woman to serve with a black president”.

According to the New York Times, one group of donors is aiming to raise up to $100 million for an escrow fund named the Next Generation PAC, which would be used to support a replacement candidate.

If Mr Biden chooses not to step aside, sources involved in the effort suggest that the funds could be directed toward down-ballot candidates.

Ms Disney has spoken out in support of Kamala Harris, the vice president.

“If Democrats would tolerate any of her perceived shortcomings even one-tenth as much as they have tolerated Biden’s… we can win this election by a lot,” she told CNBC.

‘DEMbargo’

Other donors have followed Ms Disney’s lead in blacklisting Mr Biden.

Damon Lindelof, a Hollywood producer who has donated over $115,000 to Democrats this election cycle and attended Mr Biden’s fundraiser in Hollywood last month, published an essay in Deadline urging a “DEMbargo” on Mr Biden and other Democratic candidates unless Mr Biden stepped down.

In a text message, Mr Lindelof said: “No one is eager to donate to anyone until the proverbial dust settles.”

A total of $3 million in planned donations from philanthropist Gideon Stein have been put on hold, according to CNBC.

“Virtually every major donor I’ve talked to believes that we need a new candidate in order to defeat Donald Trump,” Mr Stein said.

On Wednesday Reed Hastings, the Netflix co-founder and a major Democratic donor, called for Mr Biden to withdraw from the presidential race in an article for the Economist.

Alongside his wife Patty Quillin, Mr Hastings has donated more than $20 million in recent years, including roughly $1.5 million to Mr Biden during his 2020 campaign.

Biden given the cold shoulder

Members of his own party also appear to be giving Mr Biden the cold shoulder, with Senator Tammy Baldwin declining to join him during his visit to Wisconsin on Friday.

Ms Baldwin’s team has insisted that she is not snubbing Mr Biden, but focusing on her “Fired Up for Tammy” campaign tour elsewhere in the state.

Eric Hovde, Ms Baldwin’s presumed Republican opponent in November, criticised her absence, calling it a “desperate and selfish move”.

He told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Ms Baldwin was “making up excuses to not be seen” with the president.

On Tuesday, Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas became the first sitting Democratic member of Congress to call for Mr Biden to step down, alongside former Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan and Colorado congressional candidate Adam Frisch.

Nancy Pelosi, the former House Speaker, said on Tuesday that it was valid to question whether Mr Biden’s poor performance at the debate was just “an episode” or part of a “condition”.