President Joe Biden’s campaign on Tuesday touted a fundraising windfall in June, announcing that it had taken in $127 million in combination with the Democratic National Committee.
Of the significant haul, $38 million came in the four days following the president’s disastrous debate against Trump, according to the New York Times.
While Biden is pointing to the cash influx to calm anxieties about his candidacy following his widely panned debate performance against former President Donald Trump, deep-pocketed donors remain on edge.
In an attempt to quell nerves from top Democrats and the party’s rank-and-file, the Biden campaign released the June fundraising numbers well ahead of the federal filing deadline later this month.
The June numbers marked Biden’s best fundraising month this cycle, though much of that money came from a star-studded Hollywood event last month, which raked in $28 million and is so far the most lucrative single Democratic Party fundraiser to date. Even so, Biden had a higher haul in June 2020, when he raked in $141 million.
Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon on Monday held a call with over 500 major donors in an attempt to ensure them that the president can and should continue his campaign, Politico reported.
But many donors are still seeking more reassurance from Biden ahead of next month’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago. One high-dollar fundraiser told The Washington Post that the sentiment toward the Biden campaign among donors was akin to “Armageddon.”
“Unless he shakes up the campaign and shows leadership, it’s going to be a really, really tough time with money,” the fundraiser told the newspaper.
Another veteran donor, Whitney Tilson, recently said in a post on X that he felt “deceived” and added that if Biden’s performance last week was a true reflection of his abilities than it “would be a waste of my time and money” to continue backing him.
According to the Biden campaign, almost two-thirds of his June donations came from grassroots donors, and nearly half of those who gave money following the debate did so for the first time. These statistics, aides insist, are evidence of continued support for Biden.
Trump has not yet released June fundraising numbers, but he recently erased Biden’s financial edge, largely due to a huge stream of donations following his criminal conviction in Manhattan. The ex-president’s May fundraising numbers exceeded Biden’s June haul, at $141 million compared to $127 million.
To date, the Biden campaign has $240 million in the bank. And much of that money is going toward advertisements and offices in key swing states across the country.
However, despite the strong numbers from the Biden campaign, many elected Democrats and donors are waiting on post-debate polling numbers to decide how to proceed.
