Biden’s Decision to Stay in Race Is Costing Him—Literally

President Joe Biden’s assuredness that he intends to stay in the 2024 presidential race, amid mounting calls for him to drop out from within his own party, is reportedly having the opposite effect on some of his top-dollar donors. 

Some of Biden’s biggest backers are withholding roughly $90 million in pledged contributions to Future Forward, the largest pro-Biden super PAC, until the president decides to withdraw, two anonymous sources told The New York Times. 

In the wake of Biden’s disastrous performance at the presidential debate last month, multiple donors are holding off on making their eight-figure commitments, the sources said. They wouldn’t offer specifics on which donors were behind the cash freeze. 

One donor to Future Forward said that the super PAC had approached them multiple times since the debate, but he and his friends had been “holding off” on contributing. 

Future Forward would not comment on any conversations with donors, but an adviser for the group said that they presumed that all donations would resume once the uncertainty about the Democratic ticket was resolved. 

Some of Biden’s donors have begun working furiously behind the scenes to make way for the president to step aside and bring in another candidate. A group of donors has reportedly begun working to raise $100 million for the Next Generation PAC. Other major donors have directly called for the president to drop out, including Abigail Disney, who said the Biden campaign would not receive “another dime” until Biden was dropped from the top of the ticket.  

Thus far, Biden has dismissed concerns from donors as the opinions of party elites, a decision that suggests a self-sabotaging single-mindedness. As he forges ahead with his campaign, the president is likely to feel that decision where it hurts most: in his wallet.