Vice President Kamala Harris assured major Democratic donors on Friday that the party would win the presidential election as more lawmakers called for her running mate, President Joe Biden, to stand down.
"We are going to win this election," she said on a call arranged on short notice to calm unsettled donors, according to a person on the call. "We know which candidate in this election puts the American people first: Our president, Joe Biden."
The call came after Biden vowed to continue in the 2024 race and the Democratic Party planned to accelerate his nomination. At least nine Democratic lawmakers called on Biden to drop out on Friday, joining many more who've done the same in recent days.
Reuters reported that several of Biden's campaign fundraisers were put on hold, citing multiple Democrat sources involved in the events, as donors threatened to withhold funds from the campaign.
Donors were called to join the 30-minute briefing "to discuss urgent, emerging needs," according to a copy of the invitation seen by Reuters.
Harris attended the call "at the direct request of senior advisers to the president," one of the people said, an account confirmed by another person familiar with the matter.
Pressure is growing to have the 81-year-old Biden end his reelectin bid amid rising concern about his age, health, stsmina and mental acuity. Harris' name has emerged in many reports speculating on frontrunners to replace Biden at the top of the ticket for the November election against GOP nominee and former President Donald Trump.