Michael Moritz, a major Democratic donor and billionaire Silicon Valley venture capitalist, has become one of the Democratic Party’s biggest donors to call for President Biden to drop out of the race.
“Sadly, President Biden has a choice — vanity or virtue,” Moritz said in an email Friday to The New York Times. “He can either condemn the country to dark and cruel times or heed the voice of Father Time. The clock has run out.”
Moritz has donated $7.8 million to pro-Biden and anti-Trump initiatives in the 2024 election cycle so far. Most of it, about $6.8 million, went to American Bridge PAC, which runs anti-Trump advertisements in battleground states.
Moritz said all of his donation to the Democratic Party, not just Biden, was now on hold.
Moritz said he would still vote for Biden if he were the nominee, but would stop donating to Democrats from here on out.
Among other donors urging Biden to suspend his campaign were Netflix’s co-founder and executive chairman Reed Hastings; Bill Harris, the former CEO of Paypal; Whitney Tilson, a major investor for Democrats; billionaire Rick Caruso; Damon Lindelof, the co-creator of “Lost” and notable Democratic donor.
Abigail Disney, the granddaughter of The Walt Disney Co. co-founder Roy O. Disney, also said she plans to stop giving money unless Biden drops out.
Biden is recovering from Covid-19 in self-isolation at his home in Delaware and reportedly feeling “angry and betrayed” by allies as speculation of his withdrawal from the race continues.
The Guardian reports that “a mood of resignation before Biden’s departure was said to be rampant among his campaign staff.”
With more than 30 Democratic members of Congress calling for Biden to step down, the president was said to be angry at senior figures in the party for encouraging the discontent. Chief among them is Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker who has tried to persuade Biden of his declining poll numbers, as well as Barack Obama and Bill and Hillary Clinton, who Biden reportedly feels have undermined him through their conspicuous silence.
Biden’s resolve had reportedly been shaken by a combination of the intensive machinations of Pelosi, fresh poll data from swing states showing his path to an electoral college victory narrowing, and a boycott by key donors, the latest of whom reportedly was the Silicon Valley billionaire Michael Moritz.