Abigail Disney, an heiress and granddaughter of a co-founder of The Walt Disney Company, has announced that she will restart her donations to the Democratic Party now that President Joe Biden has withdrawn from the presidential race. Earlier this month, Disney declared that she would halt her contributions to the party until a change was made at the top of the ticket.
In an email to CNBC, she confirmed her decision to resume support, following Biden’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor in the race. Disney had expressed her backing for Harris at the time she initially paused her donations, 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 a group of prominent Democratic donors who expressed discontent with Biden after his underwhelming debate performance against former President Donald Trump. Reports suggest that the dissatisfaction among donors and the decline in funding contributed to Biden’s decision to step back from the race. Additionally, billionaire George Soros and his son, Alex Soros, have also endorsed Harris following the news of Biden’s withdrawal.