The always-nervous Democratic donor base was in a deep state of anxiety Friday, with some of America's wealthiest people commiserating over President Biden's weak debate performance and wondering what, if anything, they could do to turn the tide of the election.
According to a person familiar with the matter, political advisers discussed arcane rules that could allow Biden to be removed from the running against his will and replaced during or before the Democratic National Convention.
In Silicon Valley, a group of big donors, including Ron Conway and Laurene Powell Jobs, were calling, texting and emailing about what they described as a “potential disaster.” They wanted to know who in the Biden campaign they could contact to reach first lady Jill Biden and convince her not to run, according to a person familiar with the conversations.
A Silicon Valley donor who had planned to host an intimate fundraiser for Biden this summer decided to cancel the event because of the debate, according to a person who had heard directly from the would-be host. Another major donor in California left a debate viewing party early, sending a friend an email with the subject line “total disaster,” according to a copy of the email.
In group chats and private discussions, some wealthy Democrats hinted at intervention, hoping that Mr. Biden would have an epiphany and decide to pull out on his own. Others hatched strategies to redirect money to lesser candidates. The most optimistic donors wanted to wait for polls to know the extent of the impact.
A crisis in donor base — The plan was revealed in interviews with nearly two dozen donors and fundraisers, many of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.The announcement couldn't come at a worse time for Mr. Biden. Former President Donald J. Trump has outraised Mr. Biden in each of the past two months, erasing the president's once-sizable financial advantage and building Mr. Biden's own.
By Friday evening, many donors had begun to accept that a viable alternative was unlikely, but some acknowledged their enthusiasm had waned and complained that the Biden campaign had not contacted major fundraising groups within 24 hours of the debate.
Big donors are harder to maintain than smaller online donors, but those personal relationships could pay big dividends at a critical juncture as Mr. Biden faces a wave of Democratic concerns about his political strength. The donor base is being watched closely for signs that he can overcome the doubts.
The Biden campaign updated some members of the National Finance Committee on the situation on Friday morning in Atlanta, but others were stunned by how little communication they had received from campaign headquarters.
Reid Hoffman, one of the Democratic Party's most influential donors, wrote in an email to friends on Friday evening that he was being inundated with donations.
“In the last 24 hours, I have received numerous emails asking whether we should launch a public campaign to urge President Biden to resign in response to his (very) poor performance in last night's debate,” the email, reviewed by The New York Times, said. “This has undoubtedly had a devastating effect on the mood among donors and organizers.”
Cash has suddenly become a priority for the Biden campaign.
The Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee, which had a $100 million advantage over Trump a few months ago, had $212 million in June, compared with $235 million for the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee.
The Biden campaign hoped to close the gap with a massive fundraising push in the 72 hours after the debate, coinciding with the end of the normally lucrative second-quarter filing period when campaigns scramble to raise money and build momentum.
Biden's team planned a series of fundraising events on Friday and over the weekend in wealthy enclaves including Manhattan, the Hamptons and Park City, Utah, featuring the first lady, Vice President Kamala Harris and celebrities.
At the very least, his shaky performance in the debates overshadowed those events and led to concerns about poll losses.
The Biden campaign denied financial concerns and said it raised $14 million in online donations between Thursday and Friday morning, smaller than what it typically receives from major donors. The campaign said the hour after the debate, from 11 p.m. to midnight, was the strongest for Biden's reelection campaign. Combining the online surge with donations from in-person events, the campaign said it raised a total of $27 million between the day of the debate and Friday night.
The grievances and strategizing among big donors began shortly after Biden took the stage in Atlanta on Thursday night and continued into the late hours of Friday in a series of conference calls, text discussions and Signal chats that some described as having a tone similar to a virtual group therapy session.
“This is an immediate reaction to disappointment,” said Craig Kaplan, a New York lawyer and major Democratic donor.
During his weekly Friday morning Zoom call with major New York donors, Kaplan urged participants to prioritize their contributions to congressional and state races.
The perceived weakness of the top contenders “makes the lesser contenders more important,” he said in an interview, adding that he wasn't abandoning Biden.
Steven Cauthen, a Democratic donor who considers the president a friend, said he tried to woo donors who were urging Biden to intervene.
“He should be given the opportunity to think it through and say, 'I still think I can do it. I think I'm the best choice,'” Cauthen said, reflecting on his own advice. “It's his decision. I'll support him until he makes that decision.”
At the upper echelons of democratic societies, there was a gap between public and private communication.
In public, few were willing to tolerate any criticism of the president.
But privately, big donors were mulling over a question that only days earlier had seemed like fan fiction, wondering among themselves which party elders — Barack Obama? Nancy Pelosi? Chuck Schumer? — had the political clout to persuade Biden to step down.
They also debated which Democrat would be best to replace Biden, with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and California Governor Gavin Newsom mentioned as potential candidates.
Some donors argued that the importance of the debate had been overstated.
“He performed poorly,” said Robert Wolf, a former chairman of UBS Americas, “but I'm going to fight for Biden because 90 minutes of debate doesn't erase his 3 1/2 years of presidency.”
“Now is the time for us to fight with all our might,” said Chris Korge, financial chairman of the Biden Victory Fund, adding that “donors are not going to abandon Biden.”
Hoffman, the de facto leader of Silicon Valley Democrats, said he thinks pressuring Biden was a mistake, in part because it doesn't work. “Joe is our candidate. The decision to step down is up to him and his family,” he wrote. “If anything, a public effort may force Biden to try to prove his doubters wrong.”
Biden campaign fundraisers had heard from many people — one got a message on Facebook from a business school friend he hadn't spoken to in more than a decade — but little from the campaign itself. Around noon Thursday, members of the Biden campaign's financial braintrust gathered in Atlanta for what appeared to be a farewell gathering, the National Finance Committee's summer meeting, a gathering of several hundred people.
Fundraisers at the Atlanta Ritz-Carlton enjoyed a mix of presentations and roundtable discussions on campaign strategy and issues, according to materials distributed to donors in advance, but many members of the Finance Committee skipped the meeting altogether, either because they were on vacation, were dissuaded by the prospect of attending a roundtable discussion behind closed doors or simply couldn't attend at the last minute.
Meanwhile, the president and first lady tried to portray life as normal to donors.
On Friday afternoon, Jill Biden was in New York for a reception titled “Writers, Wit and Wisdom,” while Harris was in Park City for her own big-ticket event. Mark Gilbert, a Democratic fundraiser who hosted Harris in Park City, said the debate did nothing to dampen enthusiasm.
“Not only have we had no cancellations, but we've had multiple calls asking if it's too late to join,” Gilbert said.
Biden himself appeared with Elton John at Manhattan's Stonewall Inn on Friday, followed by an LGBTQ-focused fundraiser at Manhattan Center's Hammerstein Ballroom. On Saturday, he was scheduled to head to the Hamptons for an event at the home of billionaire Barry Rosenstein, who said he was preparing for more than 200 attendees, more than double his expectations. Later on Saturday, Biden was scheduled to appear at a fundraiser at the home of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy.
Biden's fundraisers at the end of Pride Month will feature cameos from celebrities and those connected to the LGBTQ movement, and Idina Menzel is scheduled to perform at a garden party in Los Angeles on Saturday.
Still, Friday ended with no clarity on what exactly donors could do for Biden, with some coming up with only pre-execution humor: memes, GIFs or a sense that things could always get worse.
“Nobody is running away,” said Steve Phillips, a prominent Democratic donor from California. “Everybody is resigned to the situation.”
Lauren Hirsch, Liam Stack and Olivia Bensimon Contributed report.