Following the weekend’s assassination attempt on President Donald Trump and with Joe Biden now seemingly set to become the presidential nominee, Hollywood insiders are reportedly venting their anger at DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg.
As Breitbart News reported, Democrats have put a lid on any efforts to replace Joe Biden as their nominee following the assassination attempt on former President Trump this weekend. In the wake of the historic moment, the first in more than 40 years, the focus has shifted to unity.
“We’re all prepared for President Trump to be re-elected,” one senior Democrat was quoted as saying by Axios.
As Breitbart News reported last month, the former chairman of The Walt Disney Company and CEO and co-founder of DreamWorks “has had to go to great lengths to convince skeptical Democratic donors that President Joe Biden is not too old to win reelection.”
Last year, Jeffrey Katzenberg, co-chair of Biden’s reelection effort, faced significant skepticism from key Democratic donors who believed Biden, who is in his 80s, couldn’t serve another four years in office, according to one research outlet. The New York Times report.
Even after Mr. Katzenberg tried to ease their concerns, some people remained unconvinced, so he invited them to a meeting with Mr. Biden at the White House and persuaded them to participate.
According to California Gov. Gavin Newsom (Democrat), Katzenberg told donors: “Trust me. If you don’t trust me, trust me. But check. Come with me, see for yourself, engage with the president.”
“He started doing that consistently,” Newsom said. “He played a really key role in getting people off the sidelines and galvanizing them to really put their all into this campaign.”
After Biden’s disastrous debate performance with former President Trump, in which he occasionally lost his train of thought and spoke slowly and slurred, donors who reportedly donated more than $30 million to the Biden campaign at Katzenberg’s urging began to express their anger. But as the weeks passed, a rift began to grow among Hollywood’s political donor class, with key figures such as actor George Clooney, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, directors Rob Reiner and Michael Douglas, and Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel calling on Biden to step aside and be replaced by a younger candidate. Biden maintained he would continue in the race, but calls for him to step down continued. But the assassination attempt last weekend tipped the balance in Trump’s favor, and efforts to replace Biden all but vanished. Trapped by Biden and with no way out, insiders have been expressing their anger at Katzenberg behind the scenes. The Hollywood Reporter (wood):
Hollywood Democrats are sifting through this disaster, searching for someone to blame. And for many, that person to point the finger of blame is Jeffrey Katzenberg, the former Dreamworks co-founder and Quibi co-creator who now serves as Biden campaign co-chair. For months, Katzenberg has not only bragged about his close relationship with the president, but has also assured anyone who will listen (and write a check) that Biden is in tip-top mental health. Biden’s press conference last week calmed some nerves, but left others unconvinced.
“People are angry,” one top Hollywood donor told Hot Sauce.
“Katzenberg asked for big checks and when people asked about the president’s health he said, ‘Oh no, he’s fine,’ but that was a total lie. A total lie,” the donor said.
“Jeffrey sees Biden as a cartoon character that he can sell to people. There is real resentment towards him,” another prominent source was quoted as saying.
“Jeffrey is promoting himself in a way that goes way beyond campaign tactics. His arrogance is outrageous,” said another.
Another source went further, saying Katzenberg’s insistence on supporting Biden was born out of secret jealousy toward DreamWorks co-founders David Geffen and Steven Spielberg after his tech platform Quibi collapsed in 2020.
