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A Disney heiress has threatened to stop all donations to the Democratic party unless Joe Biden is replaced as its candidate, saying that “the stakes are too high.”
Abigail Disney, a long-standing donor to the Democrats, hailed the president as “a good man” who had served his country “admirably,” but warned that the GOP would win in November if a change of leadership was not made.
Disney, the granddaughter of Roy O Disney who founded the company with his brother Walt, is the latest high-profile person to speak out publicly about Biden stepping down, following his disastrous performance in the presidential debate with Donald Trump last week.
The president has said he has no plans to withdraw from the race, despite multiple calls for him to do so.
In a statement shared with CNBC, Disney said: “I intend to stop any contributions to the party unless and until they replace Biden at the top of the ticket.
“This is realism, not disrespect. Biden is a good man and has served his country admirably, but the stakes are far too high.”
She continued: “If Biden does not step down the Democrats will lose. Of that I am absolutely certain. The consequences for the loss will be genuinely dire.”
Disney has been a longtime supporter of Democrats and their initiatives, giving $50,000 to the Jane Fonda Climate political action committee in April.
She gave $150,000 in 2014 to Planned Parenthood Votes, a PAC affiliated with the healthcare nonprofit, according to OpenSecrets. That PAC this election cycle has spent over $400,000 supporting Democrats, including $26,000 for Biden.
Echoing the sentiments of some senior Democrats, who have spoken to The Independent, Disney also pointed to Vice President Kamala Harris as an alternative to Biden, arguing she’d be able to defeat Trump.
“We have an excellent Vice President, her statement to CNBC continued.
“If Democrats would tolerate any of her perceived shortcomings even one tenth as much as they have tolerated Biden’s (and let’s not kid ourselves about where race and gender figure in that inequity) and if Democrats can find a way to stop quibbling and rally around her, we can win this election by a lot.”
Questions about Biden’s leadership capabilities have swirled ever since he went toe-to-toe with Trump last week. The Biden campaign claimed the 81-year-old president’s poor performance was due to him suffering from a cold and also jet lag from a heavy travel schedule.
The president also reportedly told a group of Democratic governors that he needs to work fewer hours and get more sleep, which includes limiting events after 8pm, two people who took part in the meeting told The New York Times.
Disney’s decision to stop her donations comes in the wake of similar actions by other wealthy Democrat donors, including Gideon Stein, the president of the Moriah Fund, and philanthropist Karla Jurvetson.
