The Biden campaign is sharing with donors where the campaign funds would go if the president were to drop out of the race.
Although President Joe Biden has not indicated he would step aside, the topic was discussed during a call between campaign advisers and donors on Sunday, according to NBC News.
If Biden dropped out, Vice President Kamala Harris would have dibs on the funds, which was about $91.2 million as of May 31, Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said.
Biden’s team, however, noted the president has no intention of stepping aside.
As NBC News writes, “The Campaign Legal Center’s campaign finance team also determined that Harris could access the money in the account if she succeeded Biden as the party’s presidential nominee. But they noted via email that Harris would only be able to access those funds if she is at the top of the ticket.”
In this scenario, if Harris did not become the party’s nominee the Campaign Legal Center’s campaign finance team said the funds could turn into a political action committee, per the outlet. Another option could be the funds being refunded to the donors, among other options.
NBC News reported on Tuesday morning that a conference call was made on Thursday to donors to reassure them after Biden’s debate performance.
The president also tried to quell concerns following the debate, telling supporters at a rally in North Carolina on Friday, “I don’t walk as easily as I used to, I don’t talk as smoothly as I used to, I don’t debate as well as I used to.” He continued:
“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… And I know like millions of Americans know, when you get knocked down, you get back up. I give you my word as a Biden, I would not be running again if I didn’t believe with all my heart and soul I could do this job, because quite frankly, the stakes are too high.”
Following the debate, Biden took a dip in his polling numbers, per FiveThirtyEight’s polling average for the 2024 presidential election. Trump held 41.8% while Biden was at 40.4%, as of Monday.
