Democrat mega-donors consider three courses of action after Biden’s disastrous debate with Trump as they reveal the one person who will decide his fate

There are three different paths Democratic megadonors are considering for how they deal with Joe Biden after his weak debate performance in Georgia on Thursday.

This weekend’s post-debate focus was largely on the Biden family, who gathered at Camp David to discuss their patriarch’s political future.

The family has been unequivocal in its support of the president, even wondering how they can get involved further. Their troubled son Hunter is demanding that his father get back into the race.

However, many have started blaming Biden. They point to the poor preparation of Biden’s advisers for the debates against Donald Trump. Moreover, time is of the essence as Democrats panic over his nosedive in the polls after the Atlanta election.

Democratic donors, former and current Washington power brokers, and Biden supporters appear to have coalesced around three different paths they can take during the remainder of this election season, knowing that only one person can decide the fate of the campaign.

Many of the president’s wealthiest supporters believe that while Thursday was a disaster, there’s not much they can do if Biden doesn’t make the decision himself.

“The smartest thing to do is think about how you (as influential outsiders) operate assuming no change,” Dmitry Mehlhorn, who organizes wealthy Biden boosters such as LinkedIn CEO Reid Hoffman, told me. CNN.

“And if there is no change, if Biden wants to remain president, then any kind of pressure campaign is just a waste of time, energy, effort and money,” added Melhorn, who admitted that much of the debate was “very disturbing to watch.”

Signum Global Advisors chairman and major Democratic donor Charles Myers immediately dismissed the idea of ​​replacing Biden.

“Yes, donors were nervous after the very poor debate performance, but they are still very much on board and some want to do more,” he said.

There is an opposing party — though largely no one with direct access or influence over Biden — who says now is the time to encourage him to quit.

Tom Harkin, a former Democratic senator from Iowa who worked with Biden for decades, perhaps made this sentiment most public in a post-debate mission to allies.

“All sitting Democratic senators should write a letter to Biden asking him to release his delegates and step aside so the convention can choose a new nominee,” Harkin wrote.

“This is a dangerous time and more important than Joe Biden’s ego or the desire to remain president,” he added, saying a new ticket would “energize the party at all levels” and allow Defeat Donald Trump.

A third trend is developing among some donors, who are alarmed by Biden’s performance but want to study the negative reactions to Thursday’s debate before making big moves, but also want to plan ahead.

“It’s time to take polls and find out if there are potential replacements who will do better than Trump,” said businessman Mark Cuban, who endorsed Biden this week.

Ultimately, the only person who can determine the fate of this campaign is Joe Biden himself.

“The party is in President Biden’s hands — for better or worse. He deserves our respect and the latitude to make whatever decision he wants,” a Democratic senator told CNN on condition of anonymity.

Another party insider told the network that there simply isn’t a viable replacement plan.

‘There is no real succession plan. That makes all of this not only heartbreaking, but also very problematic.’

CNN’s performance, in which Joe Biden kept asking questions and lost the thread, caused unprecedented panic in the party.

President Biden has blocked the nomination. The only way the party can get another candidate is to voluntarily drop out of the race.

However, it appears the president is facing an uphill battle after Thursday’s debacle.

A poll released Sunday found that 72 percent of voters believe Biden does not have the cognitive ability to serve another term, up 7 points from the same poll taken earlier in June, before the debate.

Former White House physician Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) has repeatedly questioned Biden’s cognitive and physical health.

He suggested that the seven-day debate preparation at Camp David was a way to ingest the drug cocktail just before the confrontation with Trump.

Both before and after the debate, doubts arose about Biden’s mental acuity and cognitive health.

Biden bumbled through Thursday’s debate with Trump, often speaking lowly, mumbling or losing his train of thought. When Trump spoke, the shared screen showed the president with his mouth ajar and a blank stare.

The outcome resulted in a chorus of calls for Biden to end his candidacy — even from some of his biggest supporters.

On the other hand, Trump’s performance during the debate only increased support for his party.

Fifty percent of registered voters believe the 78-year-old has the cognitive abilities to run for a second term in 2024. Only 27 percent think the same about Biden.

It’s unclear what happens next, but Biden is spending Sunday at Camp David discussing the future of this race with his family.

Some blame First Lady Jill Biden for forcing her husband to keep campaigning for re-election, and Republican Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wy.) accused the first lady of “elder abuse.”