Biden Keeps Raising Money After Disaster
Following last week’s debate with former President Trump, President Biden’s campaign has seen a surge in fundraising, amassing over $33 million in contributions. Despite criticism of Biden’s debate performance, a senior campaign official revealed in an email on Sunday that the campaign had raised $33 million since Thursday, with $26 million coming from grassroots donations. This fundraising success underscores strong support among Biden’s base, despite concerns voiced by some Democrats.
Significantly, nearly half of the grassroots donations were from first-time contributors for the 2024 election cycle, marking Thursday as the campaign’s “best grassroots fundraising day ever” and Friday as the second best. The campaign highlighted an increase in recurring donations compared to this point in the 2020 cycle, interpreting this as a robust indicator of sustained grassroots support.
In contrast, former President Trump’s campaign also reported significant fundraising gains post-debate, raising $8 million on the day of the debate itself. Biden’s campaign, however, outpaced this with a reported $27 million raised between debate day and Friday evening.
Despite the fundraising success, Biden’s campaign faced calls for reassessment following his performance. Addressing these concerns, Biden rejected suggestions to step down, emphasizing his commitment to continuing in the race. At a rally in North Carolina, Biden acknowledged his challenges:
“Folks, I don’t walk as easy as I used to. I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to,” Biden acknowledged. However, he reaffirmed his core strengths, stating, “But I know what I do know. I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong. And I know how to do this job. I know how to get things done.”
Biden’s resilience in the face of criticism was echoed by his campaign, which asserted that the debate had not significantly altered the election landscape. The campaign memo emphasized Biden’s determination to press forward, buoyed by strong fundraising and unwavering grassroots support.
