The Biden campaign has struggled to reap donations in the aftermath of President Biden’s dismal debate against former President Donald Trump, according to a report.
Contributions from large donors alone could be down by more than half this month and are lower across the spectrum, according to NBC News.
“It’s already disastrous,” a source close to the re-election effort told the outlet about the state of fundraising for the Biden campaign.
“The money has absolutely shut off,” another person close to the campaign said.
Donations for Biden have dried up post-debate, according to a report. APThe Biden campaign initially touted $14 million in funds raised on debate day and the morning after the 81-year-old president’s June 27 showdown with Trump, noting that it saw its single best hour of fundraising since Biden announced his run for re-election last April between 11 p.m. and midnight after the debate.
The campaign’s post-debate fundraising boon quickly dried up, with one source telling NBC News that donors were left with a “negative” impression after a recent fundraising call with the president.
Biden, 81, has vowed to stay in the race despite dipping in the polls and mounting questions about his mental acuity in the aftermath of his debate with Trump. Getty Images“The call seemed so contrived to people; I don’t think they buy it,” the person said.
Adding to the fundraising difficulties is the uncertainty over whether Biden will remain in the race as he faces calls to end his re-election effort.
What to know about the calls for President Biden to drop out of the 2024 race:
- President Biden’s poor performance in the first 2024 presidential debate left some Democrats unsure of his fitness for office and future as the party’s candidate.
- More than a dozen congressional Democrats have joined in calling for Biden’s exit from the race. Former Biden supporter George Clooney echoed these calls in an op-ed published in the New York Times just weeks after he helped lead a record-breaking fundraiser for the Democrat.
- Democratic voters have continued to raise concerns about Biden’s nomination since the debate, with speculations and suggestions for replacement nominees running rampant.
- Biden’s former running mate Barack Obama has reportedly been trying to pressure him to drop out, and had prior knowledge of Clooney’s op-ed. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi allegedly told Biden he could not beat former President Donald Trump this time around.
- As the Democratic National Convention approaches, California delegates for the Democratic Party are reportedly in disarray as debate over the president’s chances of re-election threatens to tear the party apart.
- However, the Biden campaign has denied any plans for Biden to bow out and for Kamala Harris to step in as the Democratic nominee. Sources close to the president believe he might not be willing to drop out, while other sources claim he is “receptive” to giving up on a second term.
“You can’t reach out to someone, because someone could say, ‘Geez, I didn’t know, he has dementia,’” one of Biden’s top bundlers told the outlet.
The report on the campaign’s fundraising woes comes just a day shy of the “two-week grace period” that donors reportedly gave the president in the wake of his poor debate performance.
Donors expected a slide in Biden’s polling numbers post-debate, but further decline after two weeks would become problematic and difficult for donors to stomach, a source privy to a call with top campaign contributors on told The Post earlier this month.
The report on the campaign’s fundraising woes comes just a day shy of the “two-week grace period” that donors reportedly gave the president in the wake of his poor debate performance. Getty ImagesOscar-winning actor George Clooney, who helped raise some $30 million for the president less than a month ago, called on Biden to end his campaign for re-election in a New York Times op-ed published Wednesday, arguing that the octogenarian incumbent “cannot win” against Trump.
The Biden campaign did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
A spokesperson for the campaign told NBC News that its report of fundraising being down was “not accurate.”






