President Biden’s campaign staff were on damage control this weekend, working to shore up support among a top donor class deeply shaken by Biden’s performance at last week’s debate.
A top campaign official held a phone call with Biden’s top donors on Sunday and stated that if Biden were to drop out of the race, all his funds would go to Vice President Kamala Harris. Some of the donors went so far as to ask for refunds, according to NBC News.
Campaign Chair Jennifer O’Malley Dillon is reportedly scheduled to hold another call with more donors later Monday.
Donors and even some of Biden’s family members have raised questions about Biden’s debate preparations and whether his aides might be to blame for Thursday’s disaster. The White House pushed back on the suggestion in a statement.
“The aides who prepped the President have been with him for years, often decades, seeing him through victories and challenges. He maintains strong confidence in them,” Biden campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz said in a statement.
Panicked Democrats across the country are raising questions about Biden’s candidacy following the debate, though it remains extremely unlikely that Biden would drop out.
Biden himself attempted to spin the performance during a fundraiser in New Jersey on Saturday, arguing that more undecided voters were swayed to his side during the debate than Trump’s.
The president reportedly acknowledged that his performance at the debate left much to be desired, but he argued that polling was on his side.
BIDEN’S INNER CIRCLE SILENT AS PARTY REELS FOLLOWING ‘EMBARRASSING’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE
“I didn’t have a great night, but I’m going to be fighting harder,” Biden told the several dozen people at the fundraising event, according to NJ.com.
“Research during the debate shows us converting more undecided voters than Trump did, in large part because of his conduct on Jan. 6,” he added. “People remember the bad things during his presidency.”
