WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and vice president Kamala Harris on Sunday thanked entrenched Democratic donors who raised record amounts in last month’s election defeat of the president-elect Donald Trump and urged them not to lose hope and remain politically involved.
Biden and Harris, along with their spouses, in remarks at the meeting Democratic National Committee The holiday reception sought to rally key donors the Democratic Party needs to stay engaged as it tries to pick up the pieces. Republicans achieved a decisive victory taking the White House and the Senate while maintaining control of the House in an election in which donors of all political stripes spent about $4.7 billion.
“We’re all getting knocked down. My dad always said, when you get knocked down, just get up,” Biden said. “The measure of a person or a group is how quickly they get back up.”
Harris, who emerged as the party’s presidential nominee after Biden ended his campaign in July following his disastrous debate performance, praised donors for putting their time — and checkbooks — into supporting her and the Democrats they believed in.
Democrats, their allied super PACs and other groups raised about $2.9 billion, compared to about $1.8 billion for Republicans. Harris noted that Democrats have raised a whopping $700 million through just 700 events hosted by the Democratic Finance Committee.
“You rallied, you opened your homes, you reached out to your friends and your family,” said Harris, who will soon start thinking seriously about her own future and whether she should run another White House. “You risked your personal capital – and by that I mean your relationships – talking to people because you care so deeply, and you connected with people and took the time to remind them of what was at stake was and what was at stake. ”
While Biden acknowledged the pain Democrats continue to feel over last month’s loss, he said they should be proud of what they accomplished.
The administration’s signature achievements include a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 to boost U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, and a sharp increase in federal environmental spending through the Inflation Reduction Act, which Biden signed into law in 2022 after it passed Congress. only with democratic votes.
“We couldn’t have gotten as much done as we are doing without you,” Biden said. “You not only contributed to the campaign, but you did something that, I think, is even more important. You were willing to lend your name, your reputation and your character to this effort.”
Biden said he planned to remain involved in party politics once he leaves office on January 20. He also predicted that he expected Harris to remain a central figure in the party’s future.
“You’re not going anywhere, boy. We will not allow that,” Biden told Harris.