DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

But the consequences — but the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious. Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails, and how he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States. But Donald Trump believes a border deal would hurt his campaign, so he ordered his allies in Congress to kill the deal. Because, you know, they know — they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors. They know Trump won’t hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat himself.

Persons: Kamala Harris’s, Let’s, Doug, Cole, Ella, Dougie, Joe Biden, Joe, Tim Walz, Shyamala Harris, Donald Harris, Aretha, Coltrane, Miles, Kamala, Don’t, Shelton, Uncle Sherman, Aunt Mary, Uncle Freddie, Auntie Chris —, Family, —, Maya, Michelle, Thurgood Marshall, Constance Baker Motley, Wanda, Kamala Harris, I’ve, Donald Trump, doesn’t, “, miscarrying, Couples, John Lewis, Trump, Putin, Said, Zelensky, Biden, Kim Jong, let’s Organizations: Democratic, Mayflower, White, U.S . Capitol, Capitol, U.S, Supreme, Trump, Social Security, Affordable, of Education, Medicare, Congress, Republicans, NATO, Fellow Locations: America, India, California, Jamaica, —, Illinois, Wisconsin, East, United States of America, Oakland, Calif, United States, China, Said Russia, Russia, Ukraine, Gaza, Israel, Iran, An America, American

Ms. Harris dropped in on each one, in descending order of price and intimacy, as donors enjoyed peach mimosas and shrimp cocktails before her remarks in the grand ballroom. The Harris campaign is immediately being more intentional at courting this community, dispatching aides to meet with affinity groups representing venture capitalists and the cryptocurrency industry. And she has hired additional fund-raising aides with ties to the Bay Area who helped organize Sunday’s event. Ms. Harris also has connections that Mr. Biden simply does not. Josh Becker, who represents much of Silicon Valley in the California Senate and is close with many industry heavyweights, said he had hosted Ms. Harris in his home two decades ago.

Persons: Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Biden, Harris’s, givers, Harris, ”, “ Harris Walz ”, Donald J, Trump, podcaster David Sacks, Sacks, Sheryl Sandberg, Laurene Powell Jobs, Steve Jobs, Josh Becker, Becker, ” Mr, Jason Henry, Nancy Pelosi, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Tom Steyer, Liz Simons, John Doerr, Reid Hoffman, Steve Westly, Getty, scions, Westly, Harris “, Eleni Kounalakis, —, ” Lateefah Simon, “ Kamala Harris, Simon, “ She’s, Ms, Ron Conway, Steve Spinner, Barack Obama’s, Hopkins, Mr, Spinner Organizations: Sunday, Obama, Bay Area, Facebook, Apple, San, California Senate, The New York Times, Biden, Area, InterContinental Locations: San Francisco, Nob, Woodside, Menlo, California, Pacific Heights, Silicon Valley, Versailles, Bay

☆ Harris Appeals to Tech Leaders in a Return to San Francisco
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-11 | by ( Theodore Schleifer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Vice President Kamala Harris, whose political career was born in San Francisco two decades ago, on Sunday returned to the city for the first time since clinching the Democratic presidential nomination, hoping to reset relations with a tech community that has soured some on President Biden. Ms. Harris’s late-morning event raised $13 million from the region’s white-collar establishment that counts her as their own. But her trip was as much a rally as a fund-raiser, with about 700 people piling into the Grand Ballroom of the Fairmont Hotel atop Nob Hill. (Some donors with a connection or two found a way, as they do, to skip the line.) Ms. Harris dropped in on each one, in descending order of price and intimacy, as donors enjoyed peach mimosas and shrimp cocktails before her remarks in the grand ballroom.

Persons: Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Biden, Harris’s, givers, Harris Organizations: Sunday Locations: San Francisco, Nob, Woodside, Menlo

With only days to consider a range of contenders, Ms. Harris and her team were inundated with unsolicited advice — much of it public — about whom she should pick. Andy Beshear of Kentucky, who has also been vetted by the Harris team, appeared at a Harris campaign fund-raiser in Chicago. Mr. Biden was at home in Wilmington, Del., over the weekend while Ms. Harris interviewed prospective running mates in Washington. A White House spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether he had spoken to Ms. Harris as she finished her deliberations. Once she chooses, Ms. Harris will spend much of the next week with her running mate.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Harris, Barack Obama, Harris’s, —, Josh Shapiro, Tim Walz, Donna Brazile, “, you’re, Brazile, Paul, Caroline Yang, Obama, Shapiro, Nancy Pelosi, Walz, Pelosi, I’m, Nancy, Gerry Connolly, Ms, there’s, Kamala, it’s, Andy Beshear, Biden, Rachel Wisniewski, . Walz, Mark Kelly, Jen O’Malley Dillon, Sheila Nix, Tony West, Cedric Richmond, Eric H, Holder Jr, Dana Remus, Theodore Schleifer, Nicholas Nehamas, Christina Morales Organizations: Democratic Party, Democratic, Pennsylvania, Democratic National Committee, The New York Times, CNN, Democrat, White Locations: Atlanta, Philadelphia, Gaza, Minnesota, St, Virginia, Minneapolis, Kentucky, Chicago, Washington, Arizona, Wilmington, Del, San Francisco

On Today’s Episode:Harris Faces Party Divisions as She Chooses a Running Mate, by Reid J. Epstein, Theodore Schleifer and Nick CorasanitiMarkets Around the World Are Jolted by Fears of Slowing U.S. Growth, by Daisuke Wakabayashi and River Akira DavisHurricane Debby to Strike Florida’s Big Bend Region, by Isabelle TaftBangladesh’s Prime Minister Seeks to Leave Country Amid Protests, Officials Say, by Mujib Mashal and Saif Hasnat

Persons: Reid J, Epstein, Theodore Schleifer, Nick Corasaniti, Daisuke Wakabayashi, Akira Davis, Debby, Isabelle Taft Bangladesh’s, Mujib Mashal, Saif Hasnat Organizations: Harris Locations: Bend

The competitive, divisive primary that many Democrats long wanted to avoid has arrived anyway — playing out largely behind closed doors in a fight over the bottom of the ticket. They turned most sharply on one of the favorites to join the ticket, Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, who has drawn opposition from progressives and even a senator in his home state. The fissures among Democrats emerged as three leading contenders — Mr. Shapiro, Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota — met with Ms. Harris at her residence in Washington on Sunday, ahead of a decision her campaign said would be announced by Tuesday.

Persons: Kamala Harris’s, Josh Shapiro, — Mr, Shapiro, Mark Kelly of Arizona, Tim Walz, Minnesota —, Harris Organizations: Gov, Pennsylvania Locations: Washington

☆ Harris Campaign Says It Raised $310 Million in July, More Than Double Trump’s Haul
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Theodore Schleifer | More About Theodore Schleifer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Neither campaign disclosed precisely how much of the money was raised or held by the campaigns themselves versus their allied party committees. But after Mr. Biden dropped out of the race on July 21, the fund-raising spigot was opened wide. The $200 million that the Harris campaign said it had raised in the week after Mr. Biden ended his re-election bid was more than Mr. Biden’s haul in the first three months of the year. The $139 million raised in July amounted to one of the Trump team’s strongest fund-raising months to date, just off the sum raised in May, when Mr. Trump’s supporters responded to his felony conviction with $141 million in donations. In June, when Mr. Biden was still atop the ticket, his campaign raised $127 million and ended the month with $240 million on hand, all before the history-making events that would unfold over the next four weeks.

Persons: ’, Biden’s, Biden, Mr, Harris, Trump, Trump’s, JD Vance Organizations: Trump, Mr, Republican Locations: Milwaukee, Ohio

The group, set up by Charles Gantt, is funneling money to Republican operatives and funding paid ads, mail and text messages that praise his position on abortion rights. Democrat,” the piece of direct mail, sent to a Democratic voter in Philadelphia and viewed by The New York Times, reads in bold letters. A spokesperson for Mr. Kennedy has not responded, either. Those ads similarly highlight Mr. Kennedy’s position on abortion rights. counterparts, promoting Mr. Kennedy as a supporter of Mr. Trump.

Persons: Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Kennedy, Donald J, Trump, Charles Gantt, Gantt, Kamala Harris, ’, He’s, “ Organizations: Republicans, Democrats, Republican, PAC, “, Democrat, Democratic, The New York Times, SAG, Trump, The Times, “ RFK, Kennedy, YouTube Locations: Philadelphia, Arizona, America, Michigan, Pennsylvania

Mr. Shapiro had been expected to headline three different events throughout the wealthy New York island towns, according to invitations seen by the Times. But gradually, throughout Wednesday, hosts were informed that Mr. Shapiro would no longer take part, according to two people briefed on the matter. “His schedule has changed, and he is no longer traveling to the Hamptons this weekend.”It is unclear why precisely the trip was canceled. Michael Kempner, who was supposed to host one of the events for Mr. Shapiro’s campaign committee, said he had been told that Mr. Shapiro needed to be with his family in Pennsylvania. Another event was a “summer soiree” expected to be held for a liberal youth-advocacy organization called The Next 50, where Mr. Shapiro was marketed as a “special guest.”

Persons: Josh Shapiro, Kamala Harris’s, Harris, Shapiro, Mr, ”, Manuel Bonder, “, Michael Kempner, Shapiro’s Organizations: Pennsylvania, Hamptons, Times, Gov Locations: New York, Pennsylvania

☆ Harris Campaign Looks Poised to Beat Trump’s July Cash Haul
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-01 | by ( Theodore Schleifer | More About Theodore Schleifer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Trump campaign said that it and its allied groups had raised $139 million in July, an enormous sum — but well short of the $200 million Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign said it brought in amid a huge burst of enthusiasm about her candidacy. The sum cited by the Trump campaign on Thursday sent it and its allies into August with $327 million in their bank accounts. It makes July one of the Trump team’s strongest fund-raising months to date, just off the sum raised in May, when Mr. Trump’s supporters responded to his felony conviction with an outpouring of donations totaling $141 million. The Harris campaign had not announced its own numbers as of Thursday afternoon. But based on previous self-disclosures, the month of July will be a study in sudden reversals.

Persons: Trump, Kamala Harris’s, Trump’s, JD Vance, Harris Organizations: Trump, Republican Locations: Milwaukee

Some of those contributors are among those involved in a donor collective supporting Mr. Trump. Mr. Buskirk, who made some money in the insurance business, has strong relationships with tech donors. Some of those contributors are among those involved in a donor collective called the Rockbridge Network that Mr. Buskirk created. Its twice-a-year meetings have drawn appearances by Mr. Trump, as well as megadonors including Peter Thiel, Rebekah Mercer, Steve Wynn and David Sacks. Mr. Buskirk gained a following in the Trump orbit with a publication called American Greatness.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, JD Vance, Christopher Buskirk, Mr, Vance, Buskirk, “, Kamala Harris, Biden, Harris, Harris’s, Virginia “, Elon Musk, ” Mr, Peter Thiel, Rebekah Mercer, Steve Wynn, David Sacks, Donald Trump Jr Organizations: Trump ., America, The New York Times, Mr, PAC, Trump, Federal, Commission, America PAC, Rockbridge Network, Rockbridge, Mar, CNN Locations: Ohio, Arizona , Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Michigan , Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Virginia

More than 100 venture capitalists said on Wednesday that they had pledged to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris in November and had solicited donations for her presidential campaign, in a rejoinder to the splintering among tech leaders over whom to support in the election. The group includes Reid Hoffman, a founder of LinkedIn; Vinod Khosla of Khosla Ventures; Mark Cuban, the former principal owner of the Dallas Mavericks; Ron Conway, a well-known angel investor; and the billionaire Chris Sacca. “We are pro-business, pro-American dream, pro-entrepreneurship and pro-technological progress,” the group said in a statement posted to their website, VCsForKamala.org. “We also believe in democracy as the backbone of our nation.” The website asks people to sign a pledge to support Ms. Harris and another to donate to her campaign. The effort was buttressed by another group of tech entrepreneurs and workers called Tech For Kamala, which also wrote a letter this week expressing “enthusiastic and unwavering support for Vice President Harris.” The letter gathered more than 550 signatures in two days.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Reid Hoffman, Vinod Khosla, Mark Cuban, Ron Conway, Chris Sacca, “, Harris, ” Organizations: LinkedIn, Khosla Ventures, Dallas Mavericks, Tech, Kamala

☆ Could Buttigieg Be Harris’s V.P. Pick? His Donors Hope So.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Theodore Schleifer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Around 24 hours after President Biden made his stunning exit from the presidential race, Pete Buttigieg gathered about 100 of his past donors on a Zoom call. The call, according to the invitation and to three participants who described it on the condition of anonymity because it was private, was meant to rally his influential benefactors to raise money for Vice President Kamala Harris. But Mr. Buttigieg, the transportation secretary and a 2020 presidential candidate, made an admission during the Q. and A. that struck at least one person on the call as unusually candid, a message he would bring to television in the ensuing days: Yes, of course he was interested in being Ms. Harris’s running mate if it were on the table. After he spoke, some people on the call said they would love to see him join the ticket and encouraged listeners to put in a good word for him with members of Ms. Harris’s orbit, one participant recalled.

Persons: Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Buttigieg, Harris’s

☆ Female Donors Mobilize for Harris, Moving to Stamp Out Opposition
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-22 | by ( Theodore Schleifer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For decades, Kamala Harris has been bolstered by a tight-knit group of female donors who rose up with her in Democratic politics. Quickly and quietly, her biggest supporters worked to rally support around her, creating enough momentum to effectively stamp out any opposition. On Sunday, when Mr. Biden announced his exit from the race and endorsed Vice President Harris, all the behind-the-scenes maneuvering appeared to pay off. The nation’s highest-ranking female officeholder, Ms. Harris rapidly picked up pivotal endorsements without attracting a single serious challenger. And while some major Democratic donors remained on the hunt for a non-Harris candidate on Monday, their efforts were appearing increasingly futile by the hour.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Biden, Harris, Money, Harris —, Michael R, Reed Hastings, Vinod Khosla —, Donald J, Trump Organizations: Democratic, Bloomberg, New, Silicon Locations: New York

☆ Trump’s Conviction and Biden’s Poor Debate Sent Big Money Into the Race
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-20 | by ( Theodore Schleifer | Albert Sun | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Mr. Trump has supercharged the Republican National Committee since he became the party’s presumptive nominee in the spring. The R.N.C., which had as little as $9 million in cash on hand at end of January, ended June with $102 million in its coffers, nearly double the $54 million it had at the end of May. The committee’s cash increase is primarily a downstream effect of an enormous spike in small-dollar fund-raising after Mr. Trump’s conviction, according to filings from campaign committees and data released earlier this week from the Republican fund-raising processing firm WinRed. Mr. Trump and allied Republican groups raised roughly $69 million from May 30 — the day of his conviction — to May 31. The $34.5 million or so raised on each of those days more than doubled the record for the best online fund-raising day of the entire campaign by either party.

Persons: Trump, Trump’s, — Organizations: Republican National Committee, Republican

☆ Harris Struggles to Reassure Major Democratic Donors
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-19 | by ( Theodore Schleifer | Lisa Lerer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Vice President Kamala Harris tried to buck up the Democratic Party’s biggest donors on Friday, telling about 300 of them that there was little to worry about in President Biden’s campaign. Ms. Harris spoke to the group at a time of extraordinary turmoil among Democrats, with many hoping that she will replace Mr. Biden as the party’s nominee. But several listeners said they found the meeting overall to be of little value and even, at times, condescending, believing that the message ignored donors’ legitimate concerns about the Biden-led ticket. Ms. Harris, of course, is in a delicate position: She must demonstrate loyalty to her boss but also be prepared to jump immediately to the top of the Democratic ticket if Mr. Biden were to withdraw. It is something I feel strongly you should all hear and should take with you when you leave.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Biden’s, Harris, Biden, “, Ms, ” Organizations: Democratic, Mr, Biden

☆ How Elon Musk Chose Trump
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-18 | by ( Theodore Schleifer | Ryan Mac | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A little over two months ago, Elon Musk found himself at Montsorrel, the palatial Palm Beach compound of Nelson Peltz, the famed activist investor. Mr. Musk knew the sprawling grounds well, having stayed in the guesthouse. But Mr. Musk had a darker message that spring day. Mr. Trump had to win, Mr. Musk said. Tesla, his electric car company, barely advertises, he said, but had still built a cult following through word of mouth.

Persons: Elon Musk, Nelson Peltz, Musk, Peltz, Steve Wynn, John Paulson —, Biden, Trump, Tesla Organizations: Las Locations: Montsorrel, Las Vegas, America

☆ How a Network of Tech Billionaires Helped J.D. Vance Leap Into Power
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-17 | by ( Ryan Mac | Theodore Schleifer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Vance flew to San Francisco to hold a fund-raiser for Donald J. Trump and to host a private dinner afterward with two dozen tech and crypto executives and investors. The location was the opulent Pacific Heights mansion of David Sacks, an entrepreneur and podcaster whom Mr. Vance had met through the tech investor Peter Thiel. Mr. Vance, now 39 years old, had worked for one of Mr. Thiel’s investment firms in San Francisco in 2016. During the $300,000-a-person dinner that night, Mr. Trump, seated between Mr. Sacks and another tech investor, Chamath Palihapitiya, informally polled the room about whom to choose as his running mate. Even with another vice-presidential hopeful, Doug Burgum, the governor of North Dakota, in attendance, Mr. Sacks, Mr. Palihapitiya and others all had the same answer: Pick Mr. Vance, they told Mr. Trump, according to two people with knowledge of the exchange.

Persons: Vance, Donald J, David Sacks, Peter Thiel, Trump, Sacks, Chamath Palihapitiya, Doug Burgum, Palihapitiya Organizations: Trump Locations: San Francisco, North Dakota

☆ Elon Musk Allies Help Start Pro-Trump Super PAC
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-15 | by ( Theodore Schleifer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Some of Elon Musk’s closest friends have helped start a new super PAC meant to help former President Donald J. Trump, creating an avenue for Mr. Musk and his $250 billion fortune to potentially play a significant role in the 2024 presidential race. Mr. Musk had not donated to the super PAC as of June 30, the end of the most recent disclosure period, according to a Monday filing with the Federal Election Commission. On Saturday, soon after Mr. Trump survived an assassination attempt, Mr. Musk went on X to issue a full-throated endorsement of the former president. The super PAC, according to three people close to the organization, is led in part by Joe Lonsdale, a co-founder of the software company Palantir and a politically ambitious venture capitalist in Austin who serves as a political confidant to Mr. Musk. Mr. Lonsdale, the people say, has played a key role in fund-raising for the group in its opening weeks, encouraging his network of influential entrepreneurs to support the super PAC.

Persons: Elon Musk’s, Donald J, Musk, Trump, Joe Lonsdale, Lonsdale Organizations: Trump, America PAC, Federal, Commission, Republicans Locations: Austin

When aides to President Biden heard in recent days that George Clooney, as close a figure as there is in Hollywood to royalty, planned to publicly break with Mr. Biden in an essay that cast doubt on his re-election chances, panic set in from Wilmington to Beverly Hills. Could Mr. Clooney be persuaded not to publish it? Mr. Katzenberg, who moonlights as a top Biden official and has worked with Mr. Clooney on philanthropy for decades, reached out to him to see if there was an off-ramp, according to three people familiar with the matter. There was not — Mr. Clooney published his essay in The New York Times, and the president’s relationship with Hollywood was torn asunder. The fallout from the Clooney essay has ricocheted across the worlds of politics and entertainment — and onto Mr. Katzenberg himself.

Persons: Biden, George Clooney, Clooney, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Katzenberg, ”, Billy Ray, “ Organizations: Biden, New York Times, Hollywood, Democratic Locations: Hollywood, Wilmington, Beverly Hills

☆ If Biden Drops Out, What Happens to His Money?
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Theodore Schleifer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Biden forcefully says he isn’t withdrawing from the presidential race. And yes, there’s the money. Over the last two years, Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris have together raised hundreds of millions of dollars for their re-election bid. That money has been split across the Biden campaign, the Democratic National Committee, almost every state Democratic Party, and various joint-fund-raising committees that cycle cash among all of those entities. Most of that money — say, the stockpile at the Democratic National Committee — wouldn’t be affected by a change of nominee.

Persons: Biden, Kamala Harris, Harris Organizations: Democratic, Biden, Democratic National Committee, Democratic Party

President Biden spoke directly to some of his biggest fund-raisers and donors on Monday, repeating his assertion that he was staying in the race and telling them they needed to shift the focus of the campaign away from him and onto former President Donald J. Trump. “I have one job, to beat Donald Trump,” Mr. Biden said on a call with his campaign’s National Finance Committee, adding that he was “the best person” to do that, according to a listener who relayed the president’s remark to The New York Times. He said it was time to put Mr. Trump in the “bull’s-eye,” according to a second listener. The president’s 19-minute remarks to donors amounted to the most formal entreaty to his financiers since his poor debate performance over a week ago that they should stay the course. His appearance, which was announced to his fund-raisers just 24 minutes before the call was set to begin, came after he sent a defiant letter to congressional Democrats on Monday morning rejecting the idea that he should drop out and gave an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” in which he invited challengers to try to stop him at the party’s convention next month.

Persons: Biden, Donald J, “, Donald Trump, ” Mr, Trump, Joe ” Organizations: Trump, National Finance Committee, New York Times

Some of President Biden’s fund-raising events in the coming weeks are in jeopardy, with one potential Wisconsin event failing to materialize and a Texas event up in the air after his poor debate performance against Donald J. Trump. Mr. Biden’s fund-raising schedule is often fluid, as the White House and the campaign juggle the complicated logistics of official events with the competing demands of donors and finance operatives. The Biden campaign had discussed sending Mr. Biden to Wisconsin for a late July fund-raiser, according to three people briefed on the plans. The campaign had hoped to raise $1 million from the event, but after the debate, campaign officials reset the event’s goal to $500,000, according to one person involved in arranging it. Even that proved to be more than Wisconsin donors were willing to give to Mr. Biden.

Persons: Biden’s, Donald J, Trump, Biden Organizations: White Locations: Wisconsin, Texas

On Today’s Episode:Labour Party Wins U.K. Election in a Landslide, by Mark Landler, Megan Specia and Stephen CastleMajor Democratic Donors Devise Plans to Pressure Biden to Step Aside, by Kenneth P. Vogel, Theodore Schleifer and Lauren HirschHurricane Beryl Gains Strength as It Bears Down on Yucatán, by Jovan Johnson, Emiliano Rodríguez Mega and Eric NagourneyF.B.I. and Justice Department Open Criminal Investigation in Chinese Doping Case, by Michael S. Schmidt and Tariq Panja

Persons: Mark Landler, Megan Specia, Stephen, Kenneth P, Vogel, Theodore Schleifer, Lauren Hirsch, Jovan Johnson, Emiliano Rodríguez Mega, Eric Nagourney F.B.I, Michael S, Schmidt, Tariq Panja Organizations: Labour, Stephen Castle Major Democratic, Biden, Justice, Investigation

After several days of quiet griping and hoping that President Biden would abandon his re-election campaign on his own, many wealthy Democratic donors are trying to take matters into their own hands. Wielding their fortunes as both carrot and stick, donors have undertaken a number of initiatives to pressure Mr. Biden to step down from the top of the ticket and help lay the groundwork for an alternate candidate. The efforts — some coordinated, some conflicting and others still nascent — expose a remarkable and growing rift between the party’s contributor class and its standard-bearer that could have an impact on down-ballot races, whether or not the donors influence Mr. Biden’s decision. The president on Wednesday reaffirmed his commitment to stay in the race amid criticism of his weak debate performance last week. But that has not placated donors or strategists who worry that he cannot win in November.

Persons: Biden

Search resuls for: "Theodore Schleifer"

25 mentions found