‘No one is picking up the phone’: Joe Biden’s fundraising confronts new hurdles after debate

President

Joe
Biden‘s
fundraising
operation
started
showing
cracks
in
its
once
formidable
armor,
almost
10
days
after
his
disastrous
presidential

debate
performance.

Some
of
Biden’s
campaign

bundlers
have
stopped
making
calls
to
potential
donors
since
the
June
27
debate,
according
to
people
familiar
with
the
matter.

“No
one
is
picking
up
the
phone,”
said
a
well-connected
Democratic
fundraiser,
who
raises
money
for
Biden
and
the
Democratic
Party.
This
person
and
others
were
granted
anonymity
in
order
to
speak
openly
about
private
conversations
on
a
sensitive
topic.

A
few
of
his
bundlers
are
limiting
their
outreach
to
people
in
their
personal
fundraising
networks,
after
they
either
received
no
response
at
all
to
asks,
or
else
they
received
furious
replies
from
people
who
questioned
why
they
should
give
money
to
Biden
after
his

substandard
debate
performance,
according
to
people
familiar
with
the
matter.

Bundlers
are
a
crucial
piece
of
any

campaign’s
financing
strategy.
Typically
wealthy
and
well
connected
themselves,
bundlers
agree
to
reach
out
directly
to
people
in
their
personal
networks
—
both
social
and
professional
—
to
ask
for
donations
for
campaigns
and
joint
fundraising
committees.

Bundling
is
more
of
an
art
than
a
science.
Some
bundlers
only
ask
people
they
know
for
small
contributions,
while
others
feel
comfortable
asking
for
six
figure
checks.
The
key
is
that
a
bundler
spends
his
or
her
personal
capital
asking
friends,
family,
clients
and
colleagues
for
what
is
essentially
a
favor
—
to
give
money
to
a
candidate
who
shares
their
values.

Bundlers’
progress
is
a
litmus
test
for campaign momentum:
When
a
candidate
is
on
the
rise,
bundlers
will
be
eager
to
talk
to
friends
and
family
about
the campaign.
But
if
a candidate is
in
trouble,
bundlers
often
feel
the
pullback
well
before
it
reaches
campaign
staffers.

Some
of
Biden’s
bundlers
are
weighing
whether
to
pause
their
calls
and
texts
and
emails
because
they
aren’t
convinced
he
will
be
in
the
race
much
longer,
despite
what
the
president
says.

“I’m
not
going
to
raise
any
more
money
or
write
out
checks
until
I
am
sure
he
is
the
candidate
and
the
campaign
finds
a
date”
for
his
planned
fundraiser
for
Biden,
said
longtime
ally
and
Biden
fundraiser,
John
Morgan.

“These
next
few
weeks
will
be
key.
But
my
donors
need
to
be
sure
he
is
the
nominee,”
said
Morgan,
when
asked
what
reassurances
he
wants
to
see
that
Biden
will
remain
in
the
presidential
race.

Other
donors
are
stepping
back
because
they
believe
the
president
should
drop
out
of
the
race.

“It’s
now
best
for
the
country
and
the
world
for
him
to
pass
the
baton.
It’s
going
to
be
a
disaster
for
the
country
for
him
to
stay
in
the
race,”
said
Stewart
Bainum
Jr.,
the
chairman
of
Choice
Hotels
and
a
major
Biden
donor.

“We’ll
help
the
nominee
—
whoever
that
is
—
after
the
convention.
We
won’t
do
it
before
the
convention,”
Bainum
told
CNBC
in
an
interview
Monday.
The
nominating
convention
is
scheduled
for
Aug.
19-22
in
Chicago.

Bainum,
who
hosted
a
fundraiser
for
Biden
in

Maryland
last
year,
said
he
believed
the
president
would
drop
out
of
the
race
heading
into
the
convention,
and
that
the
nominee
would
be
selected
by
delegates.

“We
want
to
know
who
the
nominee
is.
We
think
there
should
be
an
open
convention
and
the
delegates
can
decide,”
he
added.

Bainum
and
his
wife
Sandy
Bainum
have
each
given
the
legal
maximum
of
$929,600
to
the
Biden
Victory
Fund,
which
benefits
the
campaign,
the
Democratic
National
Committee
and
dozens
of
state
parties,
according
to
Federal
Election
Commission
records.

If
Biden
does
not
drop
out,
Bainum
said,
he
fears
the
president

will
lose
to
former
President
Donald
Trump,
and
kill
any
chance
that
Democrats
have
of
regaining
control
of
the
House,
or
of
holding
a
majority
of
seats
in
the
Senate.

A
Biden
campaign
spokesman
did
not
return
a
request
for
comment.

As
of
Monday,
Biden
trailed
Trump
by
3.3
percentage
points
in
a
general
election
matchup,
according
to
a

RealClearPolitics
polling
average.

A
new
Bloomberg/
Morning
Consult

poll
over
the
weekend
showed
Trump
leading
Biden
in
the
key
battleground
states
of
Arizona,
Georgia,
Nevada
and
North
Carolina.

In
Michigan
and
Wisconsin,
the
poll
had
Biden
up
by
5
points
and
3
points,
respectively.

Former
Pennsylvania
Gov.
Ed
Rendell,
who
has
continued
to
try
to
raise
money
for
Biden
since
the
debate,
said
he
has
heard
from
some
donors
“getting
cold
feet.”

But
Rendell
also
told
CNBC
that
after
the
debate,
he
heard
from
Philadelphia
attorney
Lisa
Kabnick,
and
she
and
her
husband
committed
to
giving
at
least
$10,000
to
Biden’s
political
operation.
A
retired
partner
at
Troutman
Pepper,
Kabnick
has
already
given
at
least
$25,000
to
the
committee,
according
to
FEC
records.

Kabnick
did
not
reply
to
an
email
from
CNBC
about
whether
she
still
plans
to
donate
to
Biden.

If
Biden
and
his
political
operation
were
to
see
a
drop
in
fundraising
in
the
coming
weeks,
it
would
be
a
sea
change
for
the
president,
who
for
years
has
been
a
prodigious

fundraiser
for
his
own
campaigns
and
for
the
Democratic
Party.

The
president’s
team

touted
$127
million
raised
in
June,
including
over
$30
million
they
said
came
in
during
the
days
after
the
debate.
The
overall
Biden
reelection
effort,
made
up
of
campaign
committees,
allied
groups
and
the
DNC,
said
it
started
July
with
$240
million
in
cash
on
hand.

Still,
despite
Biden’s
efforts
to
reassure
party
donors
that
his
debate
performance
was
a
one-off
negative
event,
some
of
them
are
still
shaken
by
the
performance
during
which
Biden
struggled
to
finish
sentences,
maintain
his
train
of
thought,
and
respond
with
force
to
Trump.

The
efforts
to
quell
donor
concerns
appear
to
be
having
mixed
results.

On
Monday,
Biden
joined
a
phone
call
with
many
of
his
top
donors,
campaign
manager
Jen
O’Malley
Dillon
and
Maryland
Gov.
Wes
Moore.
The
call
started
nearly
35
minutes
later
than
the
scheduled
noon
start
time,
according
to
a
person
on
the
call.

The
president
reiterated
his
plan
to
the
donors
on
the
call
to
stay
in
the
race,
despite
deep
concerns
by
some
about
his
ability
to
defeat
Trump,
two
people
on
the
call
said.

Biden
addressed
his
poor
debate
performance
by
saying
he
planned
to
“attack,
attack,
attack,
attack”
Trump
at
the
second
debate
in

September,
one
of
the
people
explained.
The
call
lasted
about
a
half
hour.

The
criticism
Biden
has
received
from
party
donors
doesn’t
appear
to
be
fazing
him,
even
though
a
few,
such
as
Disney
family
heiress

Abigail
Disney,
said
they
are
planning
to
halt
donations
to
the
Democratic
Party
until
Biden
drops
out.

“I
don’t
care
what
the
millionaires
have
to
say,”
Biden
said
in
a
surprise
appearance
on
MSNBC’s
“Morning
Joe”
on
Monday.
“By
the
way,
you
don’t
see
a
whole
lot
of
them
flocking
to
Trump.”

And
while
there
is
certainly
worry
spreading
among
the
ranks
of
Democratic
donors,
there
are
still
plenty
willing
to
continue
helping
the
president.

“I’m
fully
supportive
of
the
president
and
plan
to
continue
giving.
He’s
not
perfect,
but
the
alternative
is
unacceptable.
Not
just
for
Democrats,
but
independents
and
many
progressive
traditional
conservative
Republicans,”
said
Glen
Tullman,
CEO
of
Transcarent.
The
entrepreneur
and
founder
of
Livongo
Health
gave
$450,000
to
the
Biden
Victory
Fund
in
March,
according
to
FEC
records.

There
are
also
several
fundraisers
for
Biden
being
planned
across
the
country.

Biden
is
aiming
to
take
part
in
a
fundraiser
in
Austin,
Texas,
around

July
15,
the
same
day
he
is
planning
to
deliver
a
speech
at
the LBJ
Presidential
Library,
according
to
a
person
with
direct
knowledge
of
the
matter.

He’ll
also
be
traveling
to
California
and
Colorado
for
a
fundraising
swing
at
the
end
of
the
month
for
events
co-hosted
by
businessman
Tim
Gill,
as
well
as
real
estate
executive
Wayne
Jordan
and
his
wife,
longtime
Democratic
donor,
Quinn
Delaney,
this
person
explained.

A
representative
for
Gill
did
not
reply
to
a
request
for
comment
from
CNBC.
Jordan
did
not
reply
to
a
request
for
comment.

Rendell
said
he’s
planning
a
September
fundraiser
for
Biden
in
Pennsylvania.
Biden’s
allies
in
New
York
are
also
planning
a
September
fundraising
event,
according
to
a
person
familiar
with
the
matter.

“Some
may
have
been
resolved
not
to
give
money,
but
I
guarantee
you
that
if
there
are
polls
showing
him
ahead
of
Trump,
they’ll
start
giving
him
money
again,”
Rendell
said.