Abigail Disney, an heiress and granddaughter of a co-founder of The Walt Disney Company, announced her decision to resume donations to the Democratic Party following President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the reelection race. Earlier this month, Disney had declared that she would halt contributions until Biden was replaced at the top of the ticket.
In an email to CNBC on Monday, she confirmed her renewed support, stating, “Yes, I will resume supporting,” now that Biden has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the presidential candidate.
When she initially decided to stop her donations, Disney expressed her backing 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’s discontent with Biden was shared by other significant Democratic donors, particularly after his poor debate performance against former President Donald Trump. Reports suggest that the increasing pressure from the donor class and a decrease in funding contributed to Biden’s decision to withdraw. Following Biden’s announcement, George Soros and his son, Alex Soros, also expressed their support for Harris.