In a nationally broadcast interview on Monday, President Biden pushed back on rich Democrats who want him to end his re-election campaign, saying, “I don’t care what the millionaires think.”Small donors, he made clear, were coming through for him.
But hours later, Mr. Biden joined a private call with his top donors and fund-raisers to reassure them.
The seemingly contradictory messages show the conundrum facing the president as he grapples with the fallout from his disastrous debate performance against former President Donald J. Trump last month.
In order to continue to fund his presidential campaign, Mr. Biden will most likely need the support of wealthy Democratic Party backers, but they have been among the loudest voices calling for him to end his bid for re-election.
In trying to diffuse their opposition, Mr. Biden — a politician who has long relied on the party’s establishment to fund his campaign — has adopted a surprisingly populist anti-elite message that, in some ways, echoes Mr. Trump’s.
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