Clintons privately urge donors to keep giving to Biden as long as he remains presumptive nominee
By MJ Lee and Priscilla Alvarez, CNN
(CNN) — Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have been privately encouraging donors in recent weeks to continue financially supporting President Joe Biden’s campaign, according to two sources familiar, in the aftermath of Biden’s disastrous debate performance that has sent the Democratic Party spiraling into chaos.
One of the sources said the Clintons are choosing to be “deferential to Biden’s decision.” However, the second source, who is familiar with the Clintons’ thinking and has spoken with the couple in recent days, insisted that it is more accurate to say they are “deferential to the process.”
According to this source, the Clintons have made clear in private conversations recently that it doesn’t matter what anybody says or thinks — unless Biden decides he will drop out of the 2024 race or the delegates vote for somebody else, he is the party’s presumptive nominee.
This source declined to comment on whether the Clintons have expressed a personal view on whether they believe Biden should continue seeking a second term.
Since the CNN debate on June 27, big-dollar donors have held back from writing checks amid growing concerns about Biden’s candidacy, raising serious concerns about how long the campaign can continue operating in full force if circumstances don’t change.
“I don’t know how you campaign with a broadening electoral map without money. I don’t know what they’re doing. I don’t know,” one major Democratic donor told CNN on Friday. “I’ve never seen this strategy where you think you can win without money.”
This donor mused that perhaps the campaign can get away with digging in for a few more weeks under the current circumstances, but that anything longer would become extraordinarily difficult.
They also noted that the emails from the campaign for events and fundraisers have significantly slowed in recent weeks: “They seem far and few between,” they said.
Still, the Biden campaign has boasted record-breaking grassroots fundraising.
On Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris joined a call with donors amid ongoing party panic. The vice president was asked to do the call by the West Wing, according to campaign officials. Harris’ aides have repeatedly stressed that there’s no daylight between the vice president and the president, and she maintained her defense of Biden on Friday.
Harris attended a fundraiser in Massachusetts on Saturday.
The Biden campaign also previewed upcoming fundraisers in Chicago, as well as in Northern and Southern California in the upcoming days and weeks to rake in more cash. “He will be doing big fundraisers and focusing on continuing to bolster grassroots fundraising,” Biden campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz said on MSNBC on Saturday.
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