Li Says Harris Reassured Donors Biden Would Stay
According to Li, Harris participated in a July 19, 2024, call with major Democratic donors and insisted that Biden was not preparing to leave the presidential race.
At the time, Biden was facing mounting questions about his age, public appearances and ability to continue the campaign following his disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump.
Yet Li says Harris presented a united front.
Biden announced on July 21 that he was ending his reelection bid.
Li told Fox News Digital that Harris’ public loyalty was part of a broader strategy.
“It was all charade,” Li told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview tied to her new book, Unburdened. “She was auditioning for Biden’s endorsement, and the way that she did it was by imposing a fake rule on her staff to not talk about her ascending to the nomination.”
Li’s account raises questions about what Democratic leaders and major contributors knew during those final days of Biden’s campaign.
She also alleges that Harris instructed her staff not to discuss the possibility that she could eventually become the nominee.
The result, according to Li, was a stark contrast between Harris’ public statements and what she believes was happening behind the scenes.
“I was on the call; she would host calls with donors and pretend to support Biden and say there’s no daylight between Biden and herself,” Li said. “All the while she was auditioning for those very donors.”
Donors Were Reportedly Furious
Li’s account becomes even more striking when she describes the reaction among Democratic donors.
These were not ordinary campaign supporters. They were among the party’s biggest financial backers, people whose fundraising networks can have an enormous impact on presidential campaigns.
According to Li, private group chats among donors erupted after the calls.
“A lot of us have group chats,” Li recalled. “And the immediate reaction is: what an effing waste of time. What a charade, how fake.”
Li claims the donors understood that Biden’s condition had become a serious political issue despite reassurances coming from Democratic leaders.
“These are like the wealthiest people in the country saying that,” Li said. “They were very aware they were being lied to, that Biden was clearly not okay and to be told that he was okay when he was clearly incapacitated.”
Li summarized the donors’ reaction with one word:
“It was insulting.”
Yet despite that frustration, the Democratic fundraising machine moved almost immediately after Biden withdrew.
Harris Quickly Locked Down Democratic Support
Within a day of Biden’s withdrawal, Harris’ campaign reported a massive fundraising haul.
The Harris campaign said it raised $81 million in the first 24 hours after Biden’s announcement, demonstrating how quickly Democratic financial support shifted toward the vice president.
Li argues that Harris’ ability to move so rapidly was evidence that important donor relationships had already been cultivated before Biden’s withdrawal.
The transition happened with remarkable speed.
Biden withdrew from the race on July 21 and endorsed Harris later that same day.
Li claims the endorsement was not initially automatic.
“Biden initially – I don’t know if people know this, but he didn’t want to endorse her right away,” Li said. “It took him a while.”
Whatever Biden’s private thinking may have been, Harris quickly secured the backing of much of the Democratic establishment and became the party’s presumptive nominee without going through a traditional primary process.
Li’s Broader Criticism of Democratic Leadership
Li’s allegations fit into a broader argument she makes in Unburdened about the Democratic Party’s handling of Biden’s reelection campaign.
She has also discussed Democratic leaders who, in her telling, privately questioned Biden’s prospects while continuing to publicly defend him.
Li specifically points to Rep. Adam Schiff, alleging that he privately advocated for Biden to step aside while publicly maintaining support for the president.
She further claims that potential Democratic contenders considered challenging Biden, conducted internal polling and ultimately decided against making a move.
Those accounts portray a party increasingly concerned about Biden’s political future while maintaining a unified public message.
The circumstances surrounding Biden’s withdrawal remain one of the most consequential episodes of the 2024 presidential campaign.
For Harris, the transition from vice president to Democratic nominee happened in a matter of days.
For donors, the speed of the fundraising response showed just how quickly the party’s financial infrastructure could be redirected once Biden left the race.
Li’s version of events offers a sharply critical interpretation of what happened inside those donor circles.
Her allegations are based on her recollection of private conversations and her interpretation of Harris’ actions. They provide a window into the intense political maneuvering surrounding Biden’s final weeks as the Democratic nominee, while leaving broader questions about what individual party leaders knew—and when—open to debate.
What is not disputed is the remarkable sequence of events: Biden publicly insisted he would remain the nominee, withdrew two days after the July 19 donor call described by Li, and Harris rapidly consolidated Democratic support.
The political consequences were enormous.
The party had gone from defending Biden’s reelection bid to rallying around Harris almost overnight.
And according to Li, some of the same donors who privately expressed frustration over the situation were ultimately among those who helped finance Harris’ campaign.
Her account has now put those private donor conversations back under the spotlight.
