Filmmaker and philanthropist Abigail Disney called on President Biden to exit the 2024 presidential race — and said she’s not going to donate to Democrats unless he bows out.
Disney, granddaughter of Roy O. Disney, who is the co-founder of the Walt Disney Co. and Walt’s brother, said she was convinced Biden would lose in a rematch with Donald Trump this November and said the “consequences for the loss will be genuinely dire.”
“I intend to stop any contributions to the party unless and until they replace Biden at the top of the ticket,” Abigail Disney said in a statement to CNBC on Thursday. “This is realism, not disrespect. Biden is a good man and has served his country admirably, but the stakes are far too high. 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.”
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Disney is among several prominent Democratic Party backers who have come forward and called for Biden to pull the plug on his reelection bid. Earlier this week, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, a major donor to Democrats, similarly urged Biden to bow out in order for the party to “beat Trump.”
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Abigail Disney predicted that Vice President Kamala Harris could defeat Trump in the general election “by a lot.”
“We have an excellent Vice President. 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,” Disney said in the statement to CNBC.
Abigail Disney, a longtime Democratic donor, gave $50,000 to the Jane Fonda Climate political action committee in April 2024, according to an FEC filing. Disney has been outspoken on a number of issues, including the proxy fight waged by activist investor Nelson Peltz to shake up Disney’s board.
Biden, in the wake of his disastrous June 27 debate performance against Trump, has insisted that he is not dropping out of the race. ABC News is slated to air an interview between Biden and anchor George Stephanopoulos on Friday (July 5) in primetime; Stephanopoulos is expected to speak with Biden earlier in the day Friday from the campaign trail in Wisconsin.
