By EFE
06 Jul 2024, 15:36 PM EDT
Former Intuit and PayPal CEO Bill Harris says he is leading a group of donors willing to invest in presidential debates with potential Democratic nominees if President Joe Biden steps aside from the race for the White House.
According to The Washington Post, donors are seeking to attract public attention by running an open race for the nomination, rather than simply supporting a specific candidate.
Harris, however, described Vice President Kamala Harris as a “very strong candidate.”
He also cited House member James Clyburn’s suggestion of holding a “mini-primary” of sorts, involving the vice president, Democratic governors and other potential candidates, in the run-up to the Democratic National Convention in August.
The businessman said he had been unsure about Biden’s candidacy for a year and that was why he had not financially supported the president’s campaign this time.
He also said he was not afraid of the possible “drama” and “chaos” that could occur if the current president withdrew from the race.
“We need drama and a little bit of chaos. I think it can be refreshing and energizing,” said Bill Harris.
Biden has been in the eye of the storm since his performance in the first presidential debate on June 27, in which he faltered and did not string together coherent sentences.
His poor showing has raised calls from inside and outside the Democratic Party for the president to drop out of the race.
Virginia Democratic Senator Mark R. Warner, for example, is trying to rally a group of senators from his party to pressure the president to drop out of the presidential race.
Netflix co-founder and top donor Reed Hastings called on the president to step aside to “allow a strong Democratic leader to defeat Trump.”
However, during an interview broadcast by ABC, Biden said that the only possibility of abandoning the presidential race would be if “the Lord Almighty” asked him to do so and reiterated that he was the “most qualified” person to lead the country.
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