Former Democratic fundraiser says Kamala Harris courted Biden donors just before the president quit the race

When the 2024 campaign began to look shaky for President Joe Biden, a few people inside the party started whispering that the end was near. One of those voices was Lindy Li, a veteran Democratic fundraiser who has worked for both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Li says she watched Harris walk a very thin line. On July 19, two days before Biden publicly said he would not seek reelection, Harris hosted a conference call with a handful of the party’s biggest donors. "She told them there was no way Biden would drop out and that she would stand by him until the very end," Li recalled.

The timing, Li argues, was anything but accidental. "It felt like a rehearsal," she said, adding that the Vice President seemed to be auditioning for the same donors she was just telling to stick with the president.

When Biden announced his withdrawal on July 21, Harris apparently pivoted quickly. Li describes a "24‑hour charm offensive" in which Harris flooded donors with compliments, implied that she had Biden’s blessing, and subtly positioned herself as the natural successor.

"She was flattering people left and right," Li said. "It made it abundantly clear that she was the next in line, even though Biden himself was hesitant to endorse anyone right away."

Not everyone bought the narrative. According to Li, many of the donors in that call sensed the dissonance between Harris’s public loyalty and private ambition. "It was insulting," she said, noting that the donors were well aware of Biden’s frailty after a disastrous debate performance.

Harris’s team did not immediately return a request for comment. The revelations, however, add another layer to the ongoing discussion about how the Democratic establishment handled the president’s dwindling prospects and how quickly the power dynamics shifted once the campaign officially ended.