Abigail Disney, center, at a press conference in Washington D.C. in April 2023. Photo: Getty Images The Fourth of July typically brings up some notable commentary about the state of the world. While your problematic uncle was likely popping off about half-in-the-grave Joe, Abigail Disney—heir to the Disney family fortune and a longtime Democratic Party donor—kind of was, too. On Thursday, Disney announced that, if Biden doesn't leave the race for president, she'll withhold her donations. “I intend to stop any contributions to the party unless and until they replace Biden at the top of the ticket,” she told CNBC. “This is realism, not disrespect. If Biden does not step down the Democrats will lose. Of that, I am absolutely certain. The consequences for the loss will be genuinely dire.” Just like the increasing number of voters disconcerted with Biden's dismal performance at last week's debate (and the fact that his cognitive function appears less sound than someone in your local nursing home), Disney urged the party to nominate Vice President Kamala Harris instead. “If Democrats would tolerate any of her perceived shortcomings even one-tenth as much as they have tolerated Biden’s...we can win this election by a lot,” she said. If you asked Disney and a slew of other key donors, Drew Barrymore was—unfortunately—at least partially right about Harris’ viability when she was a guest on her show in April. Maybe Mamala isn't what we want, but what we need, etc., etc. Earlier this week, Reed Hastings, the co-founder of Netflix and another pivotal purse-string holder called for Biden to leave the ticket, as did Damon Lindelhoff, the screenwriter of Lost and The Leftovers. “When a country is not behaving how we want them to, we apply harsh economic sanctions," he wrote in a recent guest column for Deadline that coined the term “DEMbargo." While I agree, I don't know much about those men's validity—especially in terms of what's best for the country right now. However, I tend to trust Disney who, for years, has acted as something like a class traitor. In 2019, she publicly supported then-presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders' calls to tax billionaires, including, most notably, herself, and Disney CEO, Bob Iger. The following year, she criticized corporate greed—again, including Disney's—during the pandemic. And she hasn't exactly let up. Will Biden heed these growing calls? Probably not. Pride aside, he literally can't hear that well.
