Abigail Disney, an heiress and granddaughter of one of the co-founders of The Walt Disney Company, announced her intention to restart donations to the Democratic Party now that President Joe Biden has decided to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race.
Disney previously indicated that she would halt contributions to the party until a new candidate replaced Biden at the top of the ticket. In a response to CNBC on Monday, she confirmed that she would resume her support following Biden’s exit and endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris for the presidency.
When she first declared her decision to withhold 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 joined a number of elite Democratic donors who voiced their discontent with Biden after his underwhelming debate performance against former President Donald Trump. Reports suggest that the pressure from major donors and a decline in financial support contributed to Biden’s decision to withdraw from the race.
Following Biden’s announcement, philanthropic figures such as George Soros and his son, Alex Soros, also expressed their endorsement for Harris.