Biden Fundraisers on Hold, July Donations Plummet, Sources Say

Several of US President Joe Biden's reelection campaign fundraisers are on hold, multiple Democratic sources involved in the events told Reuters on Friday, even as the Democratic Party planned to accelerate his nomination and he vowed to continue in the 2024 race.

Biden had planned to raise money in Austin, Denver and California next week, but these plans have been shelved, at least for now, the sources said. The president tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday but said Friday he would return to the campaign trail next week.

Biden's campaign said his fundraisers would go ahead as planned. "Reuters' sourcing is incorrect, and we look forward to a robust fundraising schedule," campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz said on Friday.

A source familiar with the situation said former late-night comic David Letterman would headline a fundraiser for Biden at the home of Hawaii Governor Josh Green in about 10 days, a sign of forward movement for Biden.

A number of big donors are closing their checkbooks amid questions about whether Biden should remain at the top of Democratic Party ticket, the sources said, using their financial clout to tell Biden to drop out of the Nov. 5 race, potentially in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris.

The campaign hoped to raise some $50 million in big-dollar donations in July for the Biden Victory fund but was on track for less than half that figure as of Friday, according to two sources familiar with the fundraising efforts.

"There are a lot of donors who have said they won't put another dime in this race. The question is if Biden stays in the race, will they come back?" said one major East Coast campaign financier.

Biden raised $28 million in one night in June at a Hollywood fundraiser that was hosted by the actor George Clooney, who later urged Biden to end his campaign.

Harris will talk to major donors on Friday at the request of advisers to the president, according to a source familiar with the plan.

Fundraising from megadonors was expected to drop from June to July due to many of these people taking vacations, a campaign official told Reuters on Friday. "This narrative that high-dollar fundraising has dried up is wrong," the official said.

The official noted that the campaign has 10 campaign fundraisers on the schedule for this month.

More than one in 10 congressional Democrats have now publicly called on the incumbent to drop out following a disastrous June debate against Republican Donald Trump that raised questions about Biden's ability to win or to carry out his duties for another four years.

NOMINATING PROCESS MOVES FORWARD

The official party process to nominate Biden is advancing.

The Democratic National Convention Rules Committee met on Friday to outline a virtual voting process to bring forward the official nomination of the 81-year-old before the party's in-person convention starts Aug. 19 in Chicago. Officials argued an early nomination is needed to more easily comply with state election laws or risk being left off the November ballot.

"They're not risks that we as a party can or should take," Dana Remus, Biden's former White House counsel, told the committee.

For a party already divided over Biden, with fresh calls on Friday from Democrats in Congress to leave, the early virtual vote is another point of controversy.

Critics argue it is a means of pushing Biden through early as the party's official nominee. Others, including DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, say it is necessary to deal with an Ohio law that could have kept Biden's name off ballots in the state if he wasn't nominated by Aug. 7, prior to the convention in Chicago.

A member of the rules committee asked whether it was possible that another candidate could challenge Biden in a virtual vote. Leah Daughtry, the committee's co-chair, said any challenger would need the "verified support of hundreds of delegates."

"Such a challenge has never happened over the past half century of competitive primaries," Daughtry said.

It was unclear how the nominating process would unfold if Biden were to abandon his reelection bid. The committee is expected to meet again next week to finalize the plan.

Biden has been isolating since he tested positive for COVID this week and was believed to be taking calls to step aside seriously. Several Democratic officials think an exit is a matter of time, Reuters reported on Thursday.

"The writing is on the wall," said a Democratic donor on Friday.

Biden has insisted for weeks that he would stay in the race despite calls from heavyweights in his party to cede his position.

Trump, 78, accepted the Republican Party's nomination this week in Milwaukee, speaking before a rapt audience on Thursday.

Some Democrats have begun advertising against Biden. Pass the Torch, a group that wants Biden to step down, has launched a TV ad to air in Washington and Rehoboth, Delaware, where Biden frequently vacations, and features Democratic voters from Pennsylvania urging Biden to "pass the torch."

A strong earthquake shook a high-altitude region of western China and areas of Nepal on Tuesday, damaging hundreds of houses, littering streets with rubble and killing at least 126 people in Tibet. Many others were trapped as dozens of aftershocks shook the remote region.
Rescue workers climbed mounds of broken bricks, some using ladders in heavily damaged villages, as they searched for survivors. Videos posted by China's Ministry of Emergency Management showed two people being carried on stretchers by workers treading over the debris from collapsed homes.
At least 188 people were injured in Tibet on the Chinese side of the border, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
More than 1,000 homes were damaged in the barren and sparsely populated region, state broadcaster CCTV reported. In video posted by the broadcaster, building debris littered streets and crushed cars.
According to The AP, people in northeastern Nepal strongly felt the earthquake, but there were no initial reports of injuries or damage, according to the country's National Emergency Operation Center. The area around Mount Everest, about 75 kilometers (50 miles) southwest of the epicenter, was empty in the depth of winter when even some residents move away to escape the cold.
The quake woke up residents in Nepal’s capital of Kathmandu — about 230 kilometers (140 miles) from the epicenter — and sent them running into the streets.
The US Geological Survey said the earthquake measured magnitude 7.1 and was relatively shallow at a depth of about 10 kilometers (6 miles). China's Earthquake Networks Center recorded the magnitude as 6.8. Shallow earthquakes often cause more damage.
The epicenter was in Tibet's Tingri county, where the India and Eurasia plates grind against each other and can cause earthquakes strong enough to change the heights of some of the world’s tallest peaks in the Himalayan mountains.
There have been 10 earthquakes of at least magnitude 6 in the area where Tuesday’s quake hit over the past century, the USGS said.
About 150 aftershocks were recorded in the nine hours after the earthquake, and the Mount Everest scenic area on the Chinese side was closed.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for all-out efforts to rescue people, minimize casualties and resettle those whose homes were damaged. More than 3,000 rescuers were deployed, CCTV said.
Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing was dispatched to the area to guide the work, and the government announced the allocation of 100 million yuan ($13.6 million) for disaster relief.
About 6,900 people live in three townships and 27 villages within 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) of the epicenter on the Chinese side, state media said. The average altitude in the area is about 4,200 meters (13,800 feet), the Chinese earthquake center said in a social media post.
On the southwest edge of Kathmandu, a video showed water spilling out into the street from a pond in a courtyard with a small temple.
“It is a big earthquake," a woman can be heard saying. "People are all shaking.”

Biden Fundraisers on Hold, July Donations Plummet, Sources Say