Trevor Hunnicutt and Jeff Mason
JOINT BASE CAPE COD, Massachusetts/REHOBOTH BEACH, Delaware (Reuters) – U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will headline a fundraiser in Massachusetts on Saturday, as President Joe Biden continues to face pressure from Democratic colleagues and big donors to end his struggling campaign.
Biden and his aides vowed Friday to press ahead with his campaign despite indications that major donors will not back down on funding unless the 81-year-old president steps down.
With Biden’s confidence in his ability to win the Nov. 5 election faltering, much attention has been focused on Harris, who is seen as the leading candidate to replace him if he steps down.
Three Democratic fundraisers said Trump’s fundraisers, including one in Provincetown, Massachusetts, on Saturday, have drawn growing interest from donors who are willing to back his White House bid.
The fundraiser, which is expected to raise $2 million, will be hosted by celebrity wedding planner Brian Rafanelli and is expected to draw about 800 people, according to a source familiar with the plans.
According to the source, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is scheduled to speak at the event, and guests will include celebrities and singers such as Jennifer Coolidge, Billy Porter and Darren Criss.
Thirty-five Democrats, or more than 10 percent of the Democratic Party, have publicly called on Biden, who is isolating at his Delaware home because of COVID-19, to withdraw after last month’s debate with former Republican President Donald Trump raised doubts about whether the sitting president could win the election and serve another four years in office.
Biden’s physician said Saturday that the president is still experiencing mild COVID-19 symptoms, including a cough and hoarseness, but his vital signs are normal and he is continuing to carry out his duties.
Former Democratic President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have personally supported Biden’s decision to continue in the race and are actively urging donors to support him as well, NBC News reported Saturday, citing two sources familiar with the matter.
Meanwhile, Rep. Mark Takano of California on Saturday became the latest Democratic member of Congress to call on Biden to withdraw from the presidential race.
More fundraisers planned
The Biden campaign had hoped to raise roughly $50 million in major donations for the Biden Victory Fund in July but was on track to raise less than half that amount as of Friday, two sources familiar with the fundraising effort said.
The campaign said reports of a July fundraising slump were exaggerated, saying it had expected a drop in major donations over the holidays, and that it still had 10 fundraising events scheduled for this month.
Harris on Friday assured major donors that Democrats would win the presidential election, even as more lawmakers called for Biden to step down.
“We’re going to win this election,” she said on a call hastily arranged to calm donors, according to a person who attended the call. “We know who the candidate in this election is who is going to put the American people first, and that’s our president, Joe Biden.”
Harris appeared on the call “at the direct request of a senior adviser to the president,” one of the people said, and a second person familiar with the matter confirmed the account.
