Should a Gusher of Donations Calm Democrats?

President Biden’s camp is hoping to allay fears about his health and stoke worries about a Trump re-election.Credit…Doug Mills/The New York Times

Political reality is setting in

President Biden’s campaign just announced that it raised $127 million in June, the best month yet for this cycle. It’s the latest effort by the president’s camp to allay Democratic fears about his ability to win, following last week’s debate debacle.

But donors remain wary, even after a call with top Biden campaign aides on Monday that was meant to shore up their support. That leaves Democrats in a state of protracted anxiety, as a Supreme Court ruling heightened their fears about a second Trump administration.

“Everyone just needs to breathe through the nose for a minute,” Chris Korge, the Democratic National Committee’s finance chair, told more than 500 donors on Monday’s call, according to The Times.

Rufus Gifford, a Biden finance chair, promised that the June fund-raising numbers would be strong, setting up Tuesday’s announcement.

Campaign officials played down any erosion in support.“The media has spent a lot of time blowing this out of proportion,” one said, and others cited internal polling showing no change post-debate. (A Morning Consult poll released Monday showed the race remaining tight.)

But some who dialed in told The Times they felt it was almost facile and rudimentary. One unnamed fund-raiser told The Washington Post that unless Biden shook up his campaign, “it’s going to be a really, really tough time with money.”