Hollywood big donors are reportedly furious at movie mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg over President Joe Biden’s “age lie.”
Katzenberg, who was appointed co-chair of the campaign because of his fundraising prowess, has been accused by entertainment industry peers of misleading Biden by downplaying his aging tendencies and not sounding the alarm in time for Democrats to choose a suitable successor, The Ankler reported.
“Everyone in town is furious with him. Furious,” said the top a Hollywood observer told Ankler. When asked what donors thought of Katzenberg, who has long maintained the president is “fine” despite clear signs of cognitive decline revealed during last week’s debate with President Donald Trump, he said:
“He had this famous line to anybody: ‘I’d be happy to let you into his room and see for yourself,’ and no one did,” said the other Hollywood veteran and longtime Democratic donor. He told the Financial Times.
Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville told The Ankler that Katzenberg was “joking” when he told donors not to worry about Biden’s condition.
Carville, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton, had been urging Democrats to distance themselves from Biden long before his debate gaffes, in which the 81-year-old commander-in-chief stammered responses, appeared to stare into space and stuttered.
“I don’t think anyone believes the ‘it was just a bad night’ excuse. The debate was a turning point,” another Hollywood executive who donated to the Biden campaign told the Financial Times.
“We have to hope [Katzenberg] “We get hundreds of calls saying, ‘I’ll never do this again.'”
The day after the debate, Katzenberg did not show up to a Biden campaign meeting coordinating celebrity endorsements, a source told the Financial Times.
The move has raised eyebrows among close observers of Biden, especially given Katzenberg’s closeness to the president.
Katzenberg, who has donated nearly $4 million to the Biden campaign and a pro-Biden super PAC, was reported last year as saying he viewed Biden’s age as a “super power.”
He told Reuters last year that Biden was “energetic” and “effective” and suggested Republican attacks on his age would backfire.
“President Biden’s age is actually his superpower,” Katzenberg said.
“I think people have tried to portray that as a flaw or a negative, but I think that will fail, because his age is his knowledge and experience and, as he said, it’s his wisdom.”
The Washington Post has reached out to Katzenberg and the Biden campaign for comment.
Earlier this week, Disney heiress Abigail Disney told CNBC that she plans to suspend all donations as long as Biden, 81, remains a leading presidential candidate.
Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings called on Biden to drop out of the race, while Damon Lindelof, screenwriter for films such as “Lost” and “World War Z,” urged Democratic donors to withhold donations until Biden is replaced.
