Democratic donors torn as Biden campaign works to calm anxieties
Democratic donors remain torn as the Biden campaign continues to try to calm worries from supporters and party members about the future of President Joe Biden's reelection bid in the wake of Thursday's debate performance.On Monday evening, the Biden campaign held a call with more than 500 regional and national finance chairs – who raise money for the campaign and the Democratic Party – during which senior campaign advisers defended Biden's health and gave assurances he could carry on with his 2024 campaign.The call took place amid continued questions about Biden's ability to fight off former President Donald Trump, especially as the president attempts to galvanize Democratic donors as he entered July with less cash on hand than the Trump campaign.According to people on the call, senior campaign advisers, including Jen O'Malley Dillon, Quentin Fulks and Molly Murphy, led the conversation, acknowledging it was a bad debate for Biden but stressing he's still the party's nominee and that the base is excited.The campaign advisers also noted that a few hundred campaign events for Biden took place around the country this past weekend and touted the fundraising haul since the debate, people who were on the call told ABC News, with the campaign and the Democratic Party raking in $33 million in the days since.President Joe Biden speaks during a presidential debate with Republican candidate, former President Donald Trump, in Atlanta, June 27, 2024.Brian Snyder/ReutersMORE: As questions swirl about fitness for office, Biden campaign outraised Trump in June fundraising haulOne source on the call told ABC News, "It was good, honest assessment – no surprising questions nor surprising answers but it was good for them to do."But skepticism from donors and fundraisers remains.The first question the campaign fielded on the call was about the 81-year-old president's stamina, one person on the call told ABC News.
Dillon responded, "Biden knows he has to show who he is," but added...