Abigail Disney, an heiress and granddaughter of a co-founder of The Walt Disney Company, announced that she will restart her donations to the Democratic Party now that President Joe Biden has decided not to seek reelection. Disney had previously stated that she would halt contributions until Biden was replaced as the party’s candidate.
In an email to CNBC on Monday, Disney confirmed, “Yes, I will resume supporting,” following Biden’s decision to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for the presidential nomination.
When she initially declared her intention to pause donations, Disney also expressed her support for Harris, saying, “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’s decision to withhold her financial support was part of a broader backlash among elite Democratic donors against Biden, particularly following his poor debate performance against former President Donald Trump. Reports suggest that the pressure from this donor class contributed to Biden’s decision to step aside. Notably, George Soros and his son, Alex Soros, also expressed their support for Harris following Biden’s announcement.