Abigail Disney, heiress and granddaughter of one of The Walt Disney Company’s co-founders, announced that she will resume her donations to the Democratic Party following President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race. Earlier this month, she declared her intention to halt contributions until Biden was replaced at the top of the ticket.
In an email to CNBC on Monday, Disney confirmed her renewed support, now that Biden has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor. At the time of her initial announcement to suspend donations, she had already expressed her backing for Harris.
Disney stated, “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 decision to withhold funds was part of a broader discontent among influential Democratic donors in response to Biden’s poor debate performance against former President Donald Trump. Reports suggest that pressure from major donors, along with declining financial support, contributed to Biden’s choice to exit the race. Prominent financier George Soros and his son, Alex Soros, have also publicly backed Harris after Biden’s announcement.