Heiress Abigail Disney has announced that she will resume her donations to the Democratic Party now that President Joe Biden has exited the 2024 presidential race. Disney, whose grandfather was a co-founder of The Walt Disney Company, previously stated she would halt her contributions until the party replaced Biden as its nominee.
In an email to CNBC on Monday, Disney confirmed her decision to support the party once again, following Biden’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris for the presidency. She had previously expressed her support for Harris and criticized the Democratic Party for not rallying around her.
Disney remarked, “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.”
Her initial decision to withhold donations was part of a broader discontent among elite Democratic donors, following Biden’s poor debate performance against former President Donald Trump. Reports indicate that pressure from major donors contributed to Biden’s decision to withdraw from the race. Following Biden’s announcement, prominent donors like George Soros and his son, Alex Soros, also expressed their support for Harris.