Major Democratic Donor Puts End-of-Summer Fundraiser on Ice Due to ‘Uncertainty’ About Biden Staying in Race

John Morgan, a Florida attorney and major donor to Democratic candidates, told CNN’s Abby Phillip that he had paused an end-of-summer fundraiser he had planned for President Joe Biden due to the “uncertainty” about whether or not he would remain in the race.

Biden has remained adamant that he intends to forge ahead to November, but he’s faced growing calls from fellow Democrats to exit the race, and even former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has reportedly given the green light to Democrats in vulnerable districts to publicly call for Biden to step aside. Actor and major Democratic donor George Clooney dropped an op-ed in The New York Times this week calling for Biden to quit the race, saying that the “devastating” truth was that Biden was not the man he was a few years ago.

Phillip asked Morgan about the calls for Biden to exit amid donors “growing anxious about Biden’s candidacy” during the Wednesday night episode of CNN News Night, and asked him about why he was pausing his fundraiser.

“Well, the only reason I’ve paused it — and I’m ready to go full steam ahead, if I can — the only reason I paused it, is because of the uncertainty of what’s going on and all the chatter,” said Morgan, explaining that his original scheduled date for the fundraiser conflicted with Passover, and the campaign was looking for dates in August or September, so he started raising money for it.

According to Morgan, he got to about $1 million in commitments, and then “paused it.” He said that he was “ready to go full throttle, if they give me a date and come back, but I’m not going to raise money if there’s not going to be a fundraiser here at my home — and with this uncertainty, but John Morgan is ready to go full tilt.”

Phillip asked Morgan what he was hearing from other donors, mentioning Clooney’s op-ed.

Morgan shrugged off Clooney’s commentary, saying that he respected the actor but questioned why he brought up the concerns only after the debate. In Morgan’s view, the “optics” of the debate were bad, but he compared it to the poor lighting issues that were unflattering to Richard Nixon in his televised debate with John F. Kennedy, saying Biden was hurt by looking “pale” and possibly bad makeup and lighting. The president was “a totally different guy” the next day in North Carolina, Morgan argued.

Phillip followed up, asking about what Morgan had seen and heard himself from Biden in person, and asked if he had concerns like Clooney that Biden was “not fit for another four years.”

Clooney was “not a doctor,” Morgan replied, and noted that Biden’s “legs are shot,” describing the neuropathy the president suffers, an ailment that his father had as well. The lawyer said that he had urged Biden’s team to “address his walk” and tell people more about this, and it was “fine if his legs don’t work” — pointing to examples like the pope, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Stephen Hawkins — but “the mind” does.

“I’m just wondering at this stage,” asked Phillip, “given all the uncertainty that you’re seeing yourself, that you’re hearing from people you’re trying to raise money from, do you still believe that President Biden is the best chance for Democrats to defeat Donald Trump in November?”

Morgan said that if Biden says he is, and his family says he is, then he says he is too. He brought up the days of debate prep at Camp David with “the smartest people in the world” and said that “nobody had a concern.”

Phillip asked how he knew that for sure, and Morgan said that he “read it.”

“I don’t think they had much of a choice,” said Phillip.

Morgan replied that she’d “have to ask them,” but did add that he thought Biden became “dumbfounded” during the debate because he was “getting gaslighted with rapid-fire lies, lies, lies, lies, lies.”

Phillip asked Morgan what donors were saying about the polls, and he acknowledged there were concerns, but asked “what’s the alternative” to Biden, voicing skepticism over the idea of an open convention or Vice President Kamala Harris being willing to “go gently” for another candidate.

When Phillip asked if he agreed with the Biden campaign that the president was the “only person who can beat Donald Trump,” Morgan replied that he did not think that was true, because he thought “50 people” could.

He did say that if Harris were the nominee he would vote for her, but in his view, the best pick “if it came to that” would be a Democratic governor, naming Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Gavin Newsom of California, and J.B. Pritzker of Illinois.

Thursday afternoon, Morgan shared Phillip’s tweet with the video clip of their conversation, along with the comment, “When Joe’s ready… I’m ready. Tell me when.”

Watch the clip above via CNN.

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