US V-P Harris hits fund-raising trail, amid ongoing calls for Biden to quit 2024 race

WASHINGTON/REHOBOTH BEACH, Delaware - US Vice-President Kamala Harris will headline a fund-raiser in Massachusetts on July 20, as President Joe Biden faces continued pressure from fellow Democrats and big money donors to end his floundering campaign.

Mr Biden and top aides on July 19 vowed to continue with the campaign, even as major donors signalled they were unwilling to open their cheque books unless the 81-year-old president stepped aside.

The crisis-in-confidence in Mr Biden's ability to win

has placed a huge spotlight on Ms Harris, widely believed to be the most likely replacement if he steps down.

Her fund-raising events, including the one on July 20 in Provincetown, Massachusetts are getting added interest from donors who want to signal they are willing to coalesce around her potential bid for the White House, according to three Democratic fund-raisers.

More than one in 10 congressional Democrats have now publicly called on Mr Biden, who is isolating at his Delaware home with

a case of Covid-19,

to drop out following

a disastrous debate in June

against Republican former president Donald Trump that raised questions about the incumbent's ability to win the Nov 5 election or carry out his duties for another four years.

Mr Biden's campaign hoped to raise some US$50 million (S$67 million) in big-dollar donations in July for the Biden Victory Fund but was on track for less than half that figure as of July 19, according to two sources familiar with the fund-raising efforts.

The campaign called reports of a July fund-raising slump overstated, noting that it anticipated a drop-off in large donations due to vacations. It said the campaign still has 10 fund-raisers on the schedule for July.

Ms Harris assured major Democratic donors on July 19 that the party would prevail in the presidential election as more lawmakers called for her running mate, Mr Biden, to stand down.

"We are going to win this election," she said, on a call arranged on short notice to calm donors, according to a person on the call. "We know which candidate in this election puts the American people first: Our president, Joe Biden."

Ms Harris attended the call "at the direct request of senior advisers to the president," one of the people said, an account confirmed by another person familiar with the matter. REUTERS