Hollywood donors panic after Biden's disastrous debate performance

The evening was supposed to allay Hollywood donors' concerns about President Joe Biden's health. But it quickly turned into a nightmare for some of the industry's biggest Democratic backers.

Major media and entertainment donors are panicking about Biden's performance after he stumbled during a 90-minute debate against former President Donald Trump that was watched by some 51 million people.

“With all the text chains I'm on, people are basically telling me, 'If he doesn't step down, we won't give any more money to Democrats or the Democratic Party.' It’s super intense,” said one high-profile Hollywood donor.

Another, who is at the top level of Hollywood fundraising, adds: “Feels like the money dried up last night, about 10 minutes into the debate.” »

Friday hangover coincides with four separate New York Times opinion pieces On Friday morning, it fueled entertainment industry angst: “Joe Biden is a good man and a good president. He needs to get out of the race”; “Biden can’t keep doing this”; “I’m hearing a lot of anxiety from Democrats about Biden’s debate performance”; and “Is Biden too old? America has its answer.”

Despite the alarming media coverage, other Hollywood donors have taken a less dramatic stance, with one calling Biden’s CNN debate “concerning” but vowing to stick with his camp, while another noted that the city’s check writers will support the Democratic Party whether the incumbent president is at the top of the ticket or not. It’s also worth noting that many donors contacted by Variety were responding to the torrent of criticism and concern that rained down on the party's presumptive nominee immediately after the debate. Faced with the prospect of another Trump term, their feelings may ease and they may return home and raise money for the president.

At noon Friday, the Biden campaign sent an email from Hollywood icon Robert De Niro asking recipients to donate to the campaign. “It’s going to take all of us together to make sure Donald Trump never returns to the White House, so I’m asking you personally: Could you please donate $25 to the Biden-Harris re-election campaign to help ensure Donald Trump never sets foot in the White House again?” the message read.

The Biden campaign announced it had raised $14 million in the 14 hours after the debate. Campaign spokesman Michael Tyler told reporters there was “no conversation” about Biden resigning, and said the president was committed to holding the second debate in September.

“He didn’t have the best night on the debate stage,” Tyler said. “But you’d rather have a bad night than a candidate with a poor vision of where he wants the country to go.”

But in Hollywood, all eyes are on Jeffrey Katzenberg, the city's most active Democratic fundraiser, who threw the recent party that brought Biden and former President Barack Obama together in Los Angeles and drew personalities like George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Jimmy Kimmel and Jack Black. Sources close to Katzenberg say he is taking a wait-and-see approach to how Biden's debate will play out in the coming days. The same goes for media mogul Haim Saban, traditionally one of the Democratic Party's most prolific donors. Saban has remained quiet after someone, presumably within the White House, leaked an email he sent to two Biden aides criticizing the president's decision to withhold some military support for Israel. Katzenberg and Saban declined to comment.

Hannah Linkenhoker, a policy adviser to Hollywood donors, said she was dismayed that Biden had not forcefully defended the protection of abortion rights.

“We need a champion who can hold Trump accountable, be clear about what's happening, and be clear on this issue above all else,” she said. “It’s really hard to see how we continue to support him. He must think deeply about whether he can, in good conscience, be our candidate.

Biden needs a united and enthusiastic Hollywood behind him, given that some Silicon Valley donors have already started to migrate to Trump in recent months. To that end, a fundraiser was held Thursday night in Los Angeles featuring Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (Michigan), Andy Beshear (Kentucky) and JB Pritzker (Illinois) and hosted by Ambassador James Costos and his husband Michael Smith. Still, some of the donors willing to break with Biden expressed enthusiasm for the idea of ​​Whitmer, Gov. Gavin Newsom (Calif.) or even Hillary Clinton returning to the top of the ticket. Of course, it won’t be up to them to decide who might be the standard-bearer since Biden’s fate remains in their hands and the president’s replacement as the nominee. comes with its own challenges.

Vice President Kamala Harris will be on hand for a Pride Month presidential fundraiser in Los Angeles tomorrow, with Idina Menzel set to perform.

But the push for a new candidate isn’t just happening behind closed doors. Andrew Yang, who ran in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, wrote on X: “Guys, Democrats should nominate someone else — before it’s too late. #swapJoeout.”

Harris would be a natural successor if Biden decides to step down. Linkenhoker argued that the replacement process should not be an “anointing.”

“It has to be a democratic process,” she said. “There’s an incredible group of highly qualified Democrats to fill his position.”

Michael Trujillo, a Los Angeles-based political consultant, argued that Biden delegates would naturally be inclined to support Harris, and that talk of installing another alternative at a brokered convention was unrealistic.

“This is someone hoping for an episode of 'West Wing,'” he said. “This is not a hunt.”

Biden sought to reassure his supporters at a public rally in North Carolina on Friday.

“I don’t speak as well as I used to,” he said on stage. “I don’t debate as well as I used to. But I know what I know. I know how to tell the truth. »

Some believe the collective panic over Biden’s ability to go the distance will abate. But it will be hard to undo the negative headlines, scathing social media posts and punditry panic of the past 18 hours. Even Friday’s episode of “The View,” usually a place of unwavering support for Biden, featured two co-hosts, Sara Haines and Alyssa Farah Griffin, calling for Biden to resign. Their colleague Sunny Hostin said Biden “maybe” should go.

But co-host Ana Navarro offered a view reflected by some of Hollywood's donor class, saying: “Until Joe Biden tells me he's giving up, I'm not giving up on Joe Biden “, adding: “I'm not going to judge Joe Biden on 90 bad minutes. »

Outside Hollywood, some argue that the movie business needs to be less rigid in its support for a presidential candidate. “Fundraisers tend to get caught up in the duopolistic status quo instead of imagining what the future should look like. They now have the opportunity to bring in vibrant, charismatic voices that are sorely lacking in a game-changing convention,” says Alexander Heffner, a PBS and Bloomberg host who is launching a new series, “Breaking Bread With Alexander,” on July 4, featuring a crop of new-age politicians including Gov. Wes Moore and Sen. Raphael Warnock. “It’s a Hollywood dream come true if they can see the urgency of the moment.”

(Marc Malkin and Gene Maddaus contributed to this report.)