Business Leaders and Public Figures Urge Biden to Withdraw from Election Race

A group of party donors, influential business leaders, and public figures sent a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden on the morning of July 5, calling for him to cease running for a second term, according to The Washington Post citing sources.

"We respectfully ask you to withdraw your candidacy for the presidency for the sake of democracy and the future of our people," the publication quoted from the letter.

"The dangers for America are enormous—global and domestic instability, the cessation of ally support, crony capitalism, political persecution, and further erosion of rights for women and other groups...," the letter stated.

The letter was prepared by the Leadership Now Project, which was founded in 2018 in response to growing concerns about threats to democratic norms. According to the newspaper, the letter has been signed by 168 individuals.

Notably, the demand has been supported by former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, Galaxy Investment Partners CEO Michael Novogratz, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and former Director of the Military Office of the White House Luis Calderon.

On the previous day, Abigail Disney, an heir to a well-known corporation and a major donor to the Democratic Party, announced that she would withdraw her donations if Biden does not step down from the race. "If Biden does not withdraw, I am absolutely convinced that the consequences of losing will be truly horrific," she said, suggesting Kamala Harris, the U.S. Vice President, as an alternative to Biden.

On July 3, Bloomberg reported, citing sources, that dozens of Democratic lawmakers are discussing signing a letter directed at Biden demanding he withdraw from the race. The agency indicated that Biden is rapidly losing support among Democratic lawmakers.

Both Biden and Trump have effectively won the internal party primaries of the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively, but they have yet to become the official candidates for the presidency. Their candidacies are set to be confirmed at the party conventions. The Republican convention will take place in July, while the Democratic convention is scheduled for August. The U.S. presidential elections are set for November 5, 2024.