Former President Joe Biden has encountered problems in his early efforts to raise funds for the presidential library. Donors are checked out.
“We need a $800,000 refund,” said John Morgan, a Florida-based personal injury lawyer. He mentioned nearly $1 million raised for Biden, who went to President Biden’s President Kamala Harris.
“I don’t think a library will be built unless it’s a traditional bookmobile,” added Morgan, a longtime Biden fan.
“No one asked, but I’m not going to give it to the library,” said Susie Buell, a leading Democrat donor.
“I want him to have a nice library,” cried the third donor.
The fourth person, Biden Bandler and former administrative official, replied succinctly, “I am not.”
Most of the half dozen or more people who were Biden’s major donors or bundlers who once spoke with NBC News said they don’t have any malicious intentions towards Biden himself, but they don’t give the library or just give it a token amount. Many of them requested anonymity to speak openly.
They cited a range of factors, from not wanting to target themselves in the White House to retain financial firepower for the party’s future. He believed that Biden’s personal interaction with the inner circle would be a barrier to raising important funds for the 46th US President.
Biden also faces the remaining anger from the parties over his decision to seek a second term despite health issues. Biden then overturned the party’s nomination process with a late exit after his mental frailty was completely visible during the televised debate in June 2024.
Rufus Gifford, who led the fundraiser for Biden’s reelection campaign and served as President Barack Obama’s finance director, has been appointed chairman of the Library Committee. He said he is optimistic that donors will want to sign on to the project despite some challenges.
“We, who have not only loved the man for a while, but also understood the big picture, want to see what we can do to protect and promote his legacy,” Gifford said. “This is not about the past, it’s about the future.”
Those familiar with the Biden team’s plans said the goal is to bring between $200 million and $300 million to the project. This is far from the $850 million or more cost of the Obama Presidential Library, which is scheduled to open in Chicago in the spring. While still in office, President Donald Trump ordered millions of dollars for future libraries — Democrats accused of fundraising without guardrail — not to mention the controversial decision to win a gorgeous 747 megadget from the Catari royal family, which would later be moved to the Trump Library Foundation.
“In my opinion, no significant buildings will be built,” Morgan continued, saying his suggestion for Bookmobile was a joke. He cited Biden’s age (82) and medical issues as reasons why the former president may not be that helpful in raising funds for the library. “We are Hindenburg heading straight towards us, coupled with the perception that (the party) suffering is upset at his decision to seek a second term.”
People who frequently interact with major democratic donors say they have other disabilities.
“This is a very difficult time to raise a massive Democrat check because of how well-respected Donald Trump is,” said Chris Corge, of the Democratic National Committee’s fundraising committee, citing a conversation with a big money donor.
And donors groaned for a long time about their lack of access to the former president when he took office. They said they were slammed multiple times to write a check but were unable to return the phone.
Early on, Kolge said he urged Biden and his team to focus on raising funds for the library and perhaps to put aside their ambitions for a second term.
“If Biden doesn’t run (2024), he told them he could go out as a hero and focus on setting himself up to raise a lot of money for the library,” Kolge said.
Regarding Biden’s ability to leverage key funds from donors today, Koji said the president has a unique opportunity to be in front of the most influential people in the country.
Corge cited Biden’s farewell dinner at the White House last year as an example of a massive pull-out event begging for political fundraisers. But by then, he said, it was too late.
“This was one of the most epic dinners I’ve ever invited to at the White House,” said Kolge, who has been raising money for the Democratic presidential candidate for decades. “(But) it was after the election. He should have done it more in my opinion.”
For many Democrats, the future is about fundraising campaigns between the present and next year’s midterm elections.
Nikki Fried, chairman of the Florida Democrats, said she had never heard of the Biden Library’s efforts and was skeptical of the appetite she gave when there are competing demands for cash.
“They want to see how we are going to save democracy, and plan for how we can bring this country back to a better page and turn the Trump administration’s pages and the destruction of economic and international issues,” Fried said. “If there are real issues today, I don’t know if the donor is ready to give you dollars to the library.”
More widely, she said the fundraising was a complete challenge for Democrats.
“This ecosystem, the last cycle, has probably raised more money than ever before, we have no Congress, no White House, and no additional authority at the state level,” she said. “And there’s a real conversation going on about where we’re going from here and how we do things differently. And until they have a game plan, donors at the national level are holding back the dollar.”
Another prominent donor with close ties to Biden said that if asked, he might give a “token” to the Biden Library’s efforts, but he would not give him a ton of money.
“Everything that is happening in our country right now is so many important things that we need to fund,” the donor said.
He said he is looking at the efforts of libraries he has yet to be contacted, as difficult for Biden, as the former president’s commitment donor base is small. Biden started off with a small set of fundraising heavyweights and didn’t hand out many plum posts to top givers. Biden’s age is a number that makes the effort even more difficult.
The person characterized the previous obstacle.
“I don’t think ‘hill’ is the right term,” he said. “It’s going to be much more steep than that.”
The major donors, who were part of the administration, highlighted Biden’s decision.
“There’s a reason why ambassadors are wealthy people because at some point they need them,” the person said.
The former bandler, who was historically involved in Biden’s fundraiser, pointed to the publication of a book relating to the Democrat’s 2024 travel and the resistance at parties that ultimately need to move forward.
“Democrats need to pick up themselves and start whining about what happened and complaining,” the person said. “Joe Biden has been a civil servant in the country on the world stage for decades and we have a great debt of gratitude to him.”
“The ending wasn’t pretty, we all know that,” the person said. “But the country and he deserve a foundation and a library museum.”
So, will this guy hold for it? “No one asked me,” the person said.
Do they volunteer for money? “I don’t know.”
