Billionaire Dem donors slam ‘ineffectual' DNC, say they won't fork over more cash for now

New York Post

10 hours ago

Billionaire Dem donors including Barry Diller and Michael Bloomberg are refusing to fork over more cash for now to the party's main fundraising committee because there's now a 'broad consensus' it's 'ineffectual,'' sources said.
The Democratic National Committee has been plagued by infighting and defections as the party remains virtually leaderless since President Trump's victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election — prompting some once-reliable and deep-pocketed donors to yank funding for the time being.
'For a variety of reasons, I have no intention of donating to the DNC,' media mogul Diller told The Post last week.
6 Billionaire Democratic donors aren't forking over any more cash to the party's main fundraising committee because there is now 'broad consensus' that it's been 'ineffectual,' sources said.
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Diller, chairman of such holdings as the Internet and media behemoth IAC, seethed in his just-released memoir 'Who Knew' that former President Joe Biden and his administration used a bait-and-switch tactic when it came to his promise of restoring the 'soul of the nation.'
'I think the biggest crime of the Biden administration is that it came in with a pledge to restore a more civilized, selfless, and uplifting manner of governance and instead let us all down with its progressive elitism, personal ego, and cynical behavior. Such a shame,' Diller wrote.
Sources close to Bloomberg, a news tech titan and New York City's former mayor, said he also is wary of giving to the DNC again, while others have expressed skepticism that hedge-fund manager Marc Lasry is in a hurry to make up the shell out funding.
During the 2023-24 election cycle, Bloomberg gave $413,000 to the DNC; Diller donated $330,400; and Lasry contributed $133,400.
Lasry hinted that ultimately he will give again to the DNC — but didn't specify when. A rep for Bloomberg declined to comment.
6 'For a variety of reasons, I have no intention of donating to the DNC,' media mogul Barry Diller told The Post last week.
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'There is just a broad consensus that the DNC is ineffectual and not where we should be giving money,' said a longtime former donor.
'But it's not surprising,' the source said. ''I don't belong to an organized party, I'm a Democrat' is a longtime joke for a reason.
'We're so decentralized,' the source added. 'The DNC has always been a joke. If you are a megadonor looking to shape the direction of the party, don't give to the DNC. At this point, the shape of the DNC is just embarrassing.'
The drop-off in fundraising has left some party bosses questioning whether the committee will have to take out loans, though DNC Chairman Ken Martin has expressed doubt that will happen.
A DNC rep said that many long-time donors have already contributed to the DNC this year as part of a record-breaking donation drive in the first four months under Martin.
6 Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is another billionaire who has opted not to support the fundraising committee at the moment, sources said.
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But another donor who told The Post his wallet is now closed to the committee said Martin may have his head in the sand.
'People are too embarrassed to admit this,' the source said. 'I'm a lifelong Dem who raised a ton of money, and I won't give them a nickel — and I'm not alone.
'I'm not even a Democrat anymore. The Dems should kidnap Elizabeth Warren and take her to Mexico,' the source said of the lefty Massachusetts senator. 'This is how Trump got [his win] — not because Trump is loved but because his ideas are popular.'
Other sources pointed out that recent Democratic fundraising has been largely channeled into the New York City's mayoral race, with party leaders increasingly concerned about the prospect of self-described socialist Zohran Mamdani overtaking ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the primary contest.
6 The drop-off in fundraising has left some party bosses questioning whether the committee will have to take out loans, though DNC Chairman Ken Martin has expressed doubt that will have to happen.
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The DNC's most recent financial filings, released last week, revealed that it bled nearly $3 million alone from its already dwindling reserves during the month of May, with the committee's pot of gold now standing at a precarious $15 million.
Should Mamdani win, that could further erode support for the DNC from big donors who are concerned their money will simply go to socialists, sources noted.
For its part, the DNC has denied that donor support is wavering. In a statement released Friday, it touted what it called 'record fundraising' and the 'highest in DNC history under any chair's first four months' for Martin.
6 Hedge fund manager Marc Lasry isn't in a hurry to help the DNC right its balance sheet, either, sources said.
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The DNC told Axios that the nearly $40 million it garnered between February and May of 2025 'surpasses the $37 million raised under Jaime Harrison's leadership in those same months in 2021.'
'In the early and mid 2010's, some big-money donors already tried not funding the DNC and state parties, instead funding groups outside of the Party, which hollowed out the critical work that the Party does while putting us behind the eight-ball when it came to critical coordination during the 2016 presidential election,' warned on Democratic strategist.
'We all know how that story ended — Donald Trump won the Presidency and the Democratic Party fell to an all-time low at every level of government. The Democratic Party needs a fully-funded Party to fight Donald Trump.'
6 Former President Joe Biden and his administration are under fire for vowing to restore the 'soul of the nation' — then allegedly going so progressive that they only widened rifts.
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The Republican National Committee, on the other hand, had a net-positive cash flow for May. It added more than $5 million to its treasure trove, bringing its total funds to more than $72 million.
These new numbers put the RNC's cash stash at almost five times the size of the DNC's. And it's welcome news for Republicans.
Home Depot founder Ken Langone, a longtime GOP donor, was thrilled by the accounting and said to friends, 'We don't have to worry as the GOP party because the Dem positions are so stupid they'll never raise money again,' sources said.