Biden loyalists dismiss calls to quit in frenetic weekend blitz

Billionaire Donors

“It’s unanimous in the donor class — every single person I’ve encountered, including a number of billionaires, some of the biggest donors in the country I’ve spoken with, they’re completely aligned with me, that Biden needs to go,” Tilson said in an interview. “So there’s a complete disconnect between the campaign and the donor class.”

The editorial board of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the largest newspaper in the swing state of Georgia, joined liberal stalwarts such as New Yorker editor David Remnick and the New York Times editorial board in urging Biden to step aside.

Daniella Ballou-Aares, founder of the Leadership Now Project, said her group of business leaders who have organized around the idea of defending American democracy would be holding a virtual call Monday to discuss alternate paths.

“There’s a very significant disconnect between what the campaign is messaging and where our members are,” she said. “And I think their messaging is really out of touch with how people have seen the reality of the debate.” Concerns of members extend to the potential implications for competitive House and Senate races, she added.

Some of the campaign’s actions indicate on some level, they’re recognizing that anxiety. At fundraisers since the debate in Manhattan, the Hamptons and New Jersey, Biden conceded to donors he’d lost a step on the debate stage and vowed to work harder.

In Wilmington, Delaware, staff were called for an all-hands meeting on Friday afternoon for reassurance.

And on Saturday, Democratic National Committee chairman and Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez held a hastily arranged call with committee members across the country worried about the path forward. But some DNC members said they felt gaslit on the call, describing Biden’s team as unwilling or unable to grapple with the changing race, the Associated Press reported.

Biden officials insisted that the panic was unnecessary.

Aides said they had raised around $33 million – including $26 million in grassroots donations - since Thursday. Campaign chairwoman Jen O’Malley Dillon said internal data showed the debate “did nothing to change the American people’s perception” about the race.

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