'No way': Democratic donors balk at donating to Biden's presidential library
Most of the more than half a dozen people who were once major Biden donors or bundlers said they either wouldn’t give to the library or would give only a token amount.
Sept. 12, 2025, 5:00 AM EDT By Natasha Korecki and Jonathan Allen
(everyone knew that was coming but NBC to write a 4-5 page article, that’s just torture on purposeOnly posting the first page)
Former President Joe Biden is running into a problem in his nascent effort to raise money for a presidential library: Donors are checked out.
“I want an $800,000 refund,” said John Morgan, a Florida-based personal injury lawyer. He was referring to the nearly $1 million he said he raised for Biden that went to then-Vice President Kamala Harris last year, after she assumed Biden’s role as the Democratic presidential nominee.
“I don’t believe a library will ever be built unless it’s a bookmobile from the old days,” added Morgan, who is a longtime Biden devotee.
Susie Buell, a major donor in the Democratic Party, said, “No one has asked, but I am not inclined to give to libraries.”
“I’d like him to have some nice library,” a third donor chimed in. “I just don’t see that’s where I’m going to spend my money.”
And a fourth, who was a Biden bundler and onetime administration official, replied succinctly: “Me? No way.”
Most of the more than half a dozen people who were once major Biden donors or bundlers who spoke with NBC News said they harbored no ill will toward Biden himself but either wouldn’t give to the library or would give only a token amount. A number of them requested anonymity to speak frankly.
They cited a range of factors, from not wanting to make themselves a target of the White House to holding their financial firepower for the party’s future. Some cited personal interactions with Biden’s inner circle as being so distasteful they believed it would be a barrier to ever raising significant funds for the 46th president of the United States.
Biden also faces residual anger from the party over his decision to seek a second term despite health issues. Biden then upended the party’s nomination process with a late exit after his mental frailties were in full view during a June 2024 televised debate.
Rufus Gifford, who led fundraising for Biden’s re-election campaign and was finance director for President Barack Obama, was named chairman of the library board. He said he is optimistic that, despite some of the challenges, donors will want to sign on to the project.
“Those of us who have been around for a while and love the guy but also understand the full picture want to see what we can do to protect and promote his legacy,” Gifford said. “This isn’t about the past. It’s about the future.”
One person familiar with the Biden team’s plans said the project would have a goal of bringing in between $200 million and $300 million. That’s far from the more than $850 million cost of the Obama Presidential Library, due to open in Chicago in the spring. While still in office, President Donald Trump has commanded millions of dollars for a future library — something Democrats have decried as fundraising without guardrails — not to mention a controversial decision that the U.S. Air Force acquire an opulent 747 megajet from the Qatari royal family that is later to be transferred to a Trump library foundation.
“It is my opinion no significant building will be built,” Morgan went on, saying his suggestion of a bookmobile was a joke, “but not by much.” ==He cited Biden’s age — 82 — and medical issues as reasons the former president might not be much help raising money for the library. “Couple that with the perception that [the party’s] woes rest with his decision to seek a second term and we have the Hindenburg heading
straight towards us==.”
Those who frequently interact with major Democratic donors say there are other obstacles.
“This is a very difficult time to raise large checks for Democrats because of how vindictive Donald Trump is,” Democratic National Committee fundraising chair Chris Korge said, citing conversations with big-money donors….(3 more pages of complaints)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/rcna230452