Heiress Abigail Disney has announced that she will resume her donations to the Democratic Party now that President Joe Biden has announced he will not seek reelection.
Earlier this month, Disney, whose grandfather was a co-founder of The Walt Disney Company, stated she would cease contributions to the party unless Biden was replaced as the presidential candidate. In an email to CNBC on Monday, she confirmed her return to financial support, stating, “Yes, I will resume supporting,” following Biden’s decision to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor in the race.
When she initially withheld donations, Disney expressed her support for Harris, stating, “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 was among several elite Democratic donors who expressed dissatisfaction with Biden, particularly in response to his poor debate performance against former President Donald Trump. Reports suggest that pressure from major donors and dwindling financial support contributed to Biden’s decision to exit the race.
In addition, prominent Democratic donors George Soros and his son, Alex Soros, have also thrown their support behind Harris following Biden’s announcement.