President Joe Biden’s campaign has taken another hit, this time to the tune of $90 million. Some wealthy Democratic donors are reportedly withholding significant donations to the pro-Biden super PAC, Future Forward, amid uncertainty over the future of the president’s candidacy.
The decision to freeze funding to the president’s campaign is a response to the ongoing debate occurring among Democrats regarding how to proceed with the presidential election.
The frozen contributions include multiple eight-figure commitments, according to the two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation. The decision to withhold such enormous sums of money is one of the most concrete examples of the fallout from Mr. Biden’s poor debate performance at the end of June.
Future Forward declined to comment on any conversations with donors or the amounts of any pledged money being withheld. A Future Forward adviser would say only that the group expected contributors who had paused donations to return once the current uncertainty about the ticket was resolved.
Separately, one donor to the group described being approached multiple times by Future Forward since the debate for a contribution, but said he and his friends had been “holding off.”
Future Forward is President Biden’s primary super PAC and is planning a $250 million advertising blitz after he clinches the Democratic Party’s nomination in August. However, it appears the continuing fallout from the presidential debate has thrown a monkey wrench into the campaign. The issue has prompted Democrats and the super PAC to consider the possibility of fielding different candidates to potentially replace Biden.
A leaked poll from a group closely linked with Future Forward after the debate showed that the super PAC had tested the strength of potential Biden alternatives, including Ms. Harris, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Pete Buttigieg, the transportation secretary.
The poll showed that Mr. Biden had a worse overall favorability rating than all the alternatives.
Biden has taken a barrage of criticism from members of his own party with Democratic politicians calling for him to drop out of the race. Most recently, he met with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which did not go well. One of the lawmakers asked him to leave the race and let another leader become the standard-bearer.
It was also recently revealed that Biden’s campaign had begun conducting a poll to see how Vice President Kamala Harris would fare in a matchup against Trump. Indeed, several Democrats and members of the media have floated the idea of replacing Biden with Harris. Some have already begun the race-baiting, blaming Harris’ unpopularity on racism.
Several other donors have expressed reservations about continuing to support Biden’s candidacy. Billionaire Rick Caruso joined the chorus of wealthy donors in calling on the president to bow out of the race. Wall Street investor Whitney Tilson lashed out at the president and his allies, accusing them of lying to the public about his age and cognitive issues. “I feel like I have been deceived,” she said. “Biden and the people around him have been deceiving the American people.”
Despite the bevy of individuals urging him to leave the race, Biden has repeatedly affirmed that he intends to continue his campaign.
