Big-money Hollywood donors are reportedly enraged at movie mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg for the “agewashing” of President Joe Biden.
Katzenberg, who was named a campaign co-chair due to his prolific fundraising abilities, is being accused by his entertainment industry peers of misleading them by downplaying Biden’s age-related decline and failing to sound the alarm in time to allow the Democrats to pick a suitable replacement, The Ankler reported.
“Everyone in town is furious with him. Furious,” a top Hollywood observer told The Ankler when asked about donors’ views about Katzenberg, who has long insisted that the president is “fine” even though there were apparent signs of cognitive decline that came into full view during last week’s debate against Donald Trump.
“He had this famous quote for everybody, which was ‘I’m happy to put you in a room with him and you’ll see for yourself.’ But nobody did it,” another Hollywood veteran and longtime Democratic donor told the Financial Times.
James Carville, the veteran Democratic Party strategist, told The Ankler that Katzenberg was “pissing up a rope” when he told donors not to worry about Biden’s condition.
Carville, the former adviser to Bill Clinton, has encouraged Democrats to move on from Biden long before the debate debacle — which saw the 81-year-old commander in chief give halting answers, appear to stare out into space and fumble his words.
“I don’t think anybody buys the ‘it was just one bad night’ excuse. The debate was a tipping point,” another Hollywood executive who donated to the Biden campaign told FT.
“You’ve got to expect [Katzenberg] is getting hundreds of phone calls saying ‘I’m not doing this again’.”
The day after the debate, Katzenberg did not show up for a meeting for Biden’s campaign that coordinates celebrity endorsement appearances, a source told FT.
The move raised eyebrows among close Biden observers, particularly given Katzenberg’s proximity to the president.
Katzenberg, who has given nearly $4 million to Biden’s campaign and a pro-Biden super PAC, was quoted last year as saying that he viewed Biden’s age as a “superpower.”
He told Reuters last year that Biden was “energetic” and “effective,” and suggested Republican attacks on his age will backfire.
“President Biden’s age is, in fact, his superpower,” Katzenberg said.
“I think people have tried to paint it as a liability or a negative and I think they are going to fail at that because his age is his knowledge and experience and as he has said, it is his wisdom.”
The Post has sought comment from Katzenberg and the Biden campaign.
Earlier this week, Disney heiress Abigail Disney told CNBC that she plans to halt all donations as long as the 81-year-old Biden remains at the top of the ticket.
Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix, has called on Biden to quit the race while Damon Lindelof, the screenwriter whose credits include “Lost” and “World War Z,” urged fellow Democratic Party donors not to contribute any money until Biden is replaced.
