Dems worried over a potential plunge in Biden's fundraising

President Joe Biden's financial resources crucial for sustaining his presidential run are dwindling rapidly as an increasing number of prominent Democrats officials and benefactors urge him to withdraw from the contest.

After his catastrophic debate with ex-President Donald Trump, in which Biden struggled to counter Trump's slew of verbal onslaughts and provided inarticulate responses, his funding has begun to taper off. This information was provided by six Democratic counsel and operators who are involved with key donors. They reported a wave of cancelled fundraisers and increasing threats from some donors to halt their contributions until Biden steps down. These sources chose to remain anonymous while discussing internal party dynamics.

The financial issue isn't just confined to the cadre of major donors. Small-scale fundraising has seen a downturn recently. This was relayed by an individual with firsthand knowledge of the internal campaign data. Projections from the campaign now indicate grassroots fundraising to plummet by a minimum of 20-25% for the remainder of the month.

“The situation is grim on a staggering scale,” conveyed this source. “Ideally, our goals should be multiplied two or threefold to prepare for the autumn. However, we're on a downward spiral.”

The attrition of financial backing poses a major threat to Biden’s bid for reelection. This is despite his insistence that he stands the best chance amongst Democrats to triumph over Trump.

Post the debilitating setback at the debate, the Biden campaign has been highlighting their small-scale fundraising efforts. They announced that in the days immediately after the debate, they managed to amass $38 million. Biden put forth this figure as evidence of the continued backing of Democratic Party voters, including those who contributed under $200, despite increasing concerns about his candidacy from elected officials and analysts.

However, after the initial flush of small-scale donations, the Biden team is now having to drastically revise their grassroots fundraising expectations downwards.

In response, senior Biden campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt refuted these numbers, asserting they’re inaccurate. Speaking about grassroots fundraising, she said, “The first seven days of July were our best start to the month — and were mostly from first-time donors,”. She added that even on the high-amount side, they've seen maxed-out contributions post the debate.

The decline in fundraising signifies a weakening of base support in the Democratic party causing a fresh challenge for Biden. If he continues in the race, his campaign will require an even larger amount of funding to offset the repercussions of the debate and escalating criticism from Democrats pressing him to withdraw.

A disappointed Democratic donor advisor pointed out the campaign’s reliance on grassroots donations as a lifeline. "Sadly, there is no indication of this strategy being successful," the advisor said.

Discontent amongst high-value donors is surging. “Every single person I've spoken to says 'this is impossible. We can't raise any money.' These people were all at the debate watch party in Atlanta,” claimed a high-ranking Democratic operative.

The dissatisfaction is now becoming evident publicly. Hollywood superstar George Clooney, who hosted a whopping $28 million fundraiser for the president the previous month, stated in a New York Times op-ed that the president “was no different in the debate than we've seen him before.” Other Democratic benefactors echoed Clooney's concerns.

The fundraising team is said to be in emergency mode, having to significantly lower their fundraising goals for each event. The campaign fears this could be their worst month yet for high-amount donations.

Despite the financial setbacks, Biden is slated to appear at several high-value fundraisers this month. Additionally, a tour of the West Coast is in the pipeline, according to anonymous sources privy to event planning.

LinkedIn co-founder and Democratic mega-donor Reid Hoffman's advisor, Dmitri Mehlhorn, sent an email to other donors and leaders on Monday, encouraging them to persist in their support of Biden. He believes that "2024 represents the same binary choice as in 2020."

Biden attempted to assuage concerns amongst top donors as recently as Monday in a Zoom meeting with his National Finance Committee. In it, he urged participants to look beyond the disastrous debate and focus on defeating Trump.

However, few donors felt “deceived” by this call, as Biden “used a script” and “called on loyalists for questions,” as per a Democratic strategist working with donors. They feel as if they’ve been taken for a ride by the campaign.

Biden's strategies to quieten Democratic Party sceptics seemed effective until Tuesday, slowing down the demands for him to step down. However, unease resurged on Capitol Hill, especially after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi refrained from explicitly supporting Biden's campaign during her MSNBC interview. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) was the first Democratic senator to publicly urge Biden to withdraw his candidacy.