'Major US Democrat Donor' Netflix Founder Also Says "Biden Must Step Down"

Reed Hastings, Chairman of Netflix. Photo by Bloomberg

Amid mounting pressure to withdraw following his first TV debate loss, U.S. President Joe Biden has stated his intention to complete the race, while Reid Hastings, the billionaire founder of Netflix and a major Democratic donor, has joined calls for his resignation.

According to The New York Times (NYT), Hastings said in an email on the 3rd (local time), "President Biden should step down so that a strong Democratic leader can defeat former President Donald Trump."

Since last week's first TV debate, there has been a strong push within and outside the Democratic Party for a candidate replacement. During the debate, President Biden struggled with stammering and imprecise sentences, failing to effectively engage with former President Trump. This led to discussions of a so-called 'Plan B' surfacing even among major Democratic donors, who are considered Biden's last line of support.

The NYT reported, "Hastings is one of the largest donors to the Democratic Party in recent years," adding, "He has become the first among many major donors who have privately discussed the candidate's withdrawal to speak out publicly." Earlier, on the 28th of last month, the day after the TV debate, the outlet reported that at a meeting of 50 Democratic donors, when asked about Biden's potential withdrawal from the re-election race, most raised their hands in agreement.

Famous American investor Mark Cuban.

Mark Cuban, a billionaire investor who attended a Biden fundraising event last March, recently told CNN that he would like to conduct a poll to see if there is a potential alternative candidate who could defeat former President Trump in a hypothetical matchup. On the other hand, Reid Hoffman, one of Biden's biggest supporters, called calls for resignation a "bad idea" and urged other supporters to maintain the current course.

President Joe Biden of the United States. [Image source=Yonhap News]

However, the Biden camp maintains that the president is not considering withdrawing from the November election. In a fundraising email sent to supporters that day, Biden acknowledged, "The past few days have been tough. You must have many questions," and emphasized, "I will keep it as simple and clear as possible. I am running. I am the Democratic candidate. No one is pushing me out." White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also responded "Absolutely not" to related questions during the daily briefing that day.