Major Democrat donors remain adamant President Joe Biden must step aside as the party's presidential nominee following his disastrous debate performance against former President Donald Trump.
While Biden's family members and most avid supporters are pitching that the president just had a bad night in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday, many Democrats are concerned about the 81-year-old chief executive's fitness going forward, Politico reported.
A Suffolk University/USA Today survey released Monday showed nearly one-third of voters are more inclined to support Trump following the first presidential debate, while most respondents believe Democrats should consider replacing Biden as their nominee.
Some Democrat donors appear to be in panic mode.
"For Biden's own good and the good of the country, he should step aside immediately," major Democrat donor and former hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson told DailyMail.com.
"The fact that it has now been three days and Biden has done nothing to reassure us confirms my worst fears."
While Biden's campaign team insists the debate did nothing to change voters' minds, some donors disagree.
"They're p***ing on our legs and telling us it's raining. It's insulting. How stupid do they think we are?" Tilson said of the president's team.
Reuters reported Biden's reelection team held difficult phone calls Sunday and Monday with important campaign funders who questioned whether the chief executive should stay in the presidential race and why they should keep donating after his dismal debate performance.
The campaign's National Finance Committee held a hastily scheduled call with hundreds of top Democrat donors and people who raise money for Biden's campaign on Monday evening to tamp down panic, according to multiple sources familiar with the call.
The New York Times reported Saturday that a group of Silicon Valley megadonors were calling, texting, and emailing one another about a situation they described as a possible catastrophe.
CNN reported Sunday that Biden supporters and donors are divided into three groups: 1. Biden should step aside. 2. More time should be taken to examine post-debate poll data. 3. Stick with Biden as the nominee.
"The smartest thing is to think through how you [as influential outsiders] operate, assuming no change," Democrat fundraiser and strategist Dmitri Mehlhorn said, CNN reported. "And if there's no change, if Biden wants to remain president, then any kind of a pressure campaign is just a waste of time and energy and effort and money."