Ron Klain says ‘big money donors’ can’t force Biden out of the race

Former White House chief of staff Ron Klain on Sunday dismissed the prospect of President Biden losing the support of “big donors.” He argued that they will not push the president out of the race for the White House after his poor performance in last week’s debates.

Klain, who was Biden’s top adviser from the start of Biden’s presidency in 2021 through January 2023, told The New York Times that he was 100 percent confident that Biden would stay in the race.

“He’s the choice of Democratic voters,” Klain reportedly said. “We’re seeing record levels of support from grassroots donors. We had a bad debate night. But you win campaigns by fighting — not giving up — in the face of adversity.”

Klain, who led preparations for the president’s debate last week, pointed to a 2019 primary debate that he said went poorly but did not stop Biden’s election to the White House.

“Donors with big money shouldn’t be allowed to dictate the Democratic Party’s nominee,” Klain told the Times.

Biden is facing calls from some within the Democratic Party to step aside and let another candidate take his place as the party’s nominee. No national officials have yet joined those calls, however.

His performance during the debate appeared to set off alarm bells among Democratic donors in New York, Southern California and Silicon Valley. They privately expressed their concerns about the feasibility of Biden’s re-election, The Associated Press reported.

The donors discussed a shortlist of potential replacements via text messages and private conversations, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Vice President Harris, the newswire added.

Two days after the debate, Biden tried to appeal to donors at a weekend fundraiser in New Jersey.

“I didn’t have a great night, but I’m going to fight harder,” Biden told a crowd at the home of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Saturday. “Donald Trump is a real threat to the nation.”

Biden has already won the primaries and therefore cannot be replaced at Congress unless he agrees to step aside.

Some of Biden’s family members, including his son Hunter Biden, are pressuring him to stay in the race, the Times reported, citing a person with knowledge of the family’s conversations at Camp David over the weekend.

The White House and Biden say he has no plans to drop out of the race.

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