PROVINCETOWN, Mass. — A phone call Friday with Vice President Kamala Harris and about 300 top Democratic donors left many of those calling in frustrated, with one donor calling it “ridiculous” shortly before the call ended, two sources familiar with the conversation said.
One person in the conversation called it “poorly managed” and “rushed,” adding that expectations were not managed well and that some participants felt reprimanded.
That person and two other sources said many donors joined hoping to get a behind-the-scenes look at how to move forward after the crisis. President Joe Biden's poor debate performance and the growing number of Democrats calling for him to withdraw from the race. Instead, they said, donors left the call feeling disappointed and lacking new insights or useful information.
“It was a total failure,” said a source who was present at the meeting and asked not to be identified to give a fair assessment. “It was damaging. It was bad planning.”
The call was organized by Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon, not the campaign’s finance team, a source familiar with the planning said. One of the sources who attended the call said the donors who participated represented a wide range of views — some who were die-hard Biden fans, some who weren’t convinced about his path forward and many in between.
At the end of the call, hundreds of participants were unmuted and one person declared the call “ridiculous,” two sources said.
One source stressed that they saw the comment as a sign that the call had been poorly conducted, and not as a criticism of Harris.
Harris, who was asked by Biden's top advisers to join the call, praised Biden during the call, according to campaign officials.
“We know who the candidate in this election is going to put the American people first: our President, Joe Biden,” she said, according to campaign officials. “Every decision he makes in the Oval Office, he thinks about how it’s going to impact working Americans. And I see it every day.”
Harris also spoke positively about the Democrats' chances of winning the former President Donald Trump. “It's something I believe in my heart of hearts,” Harris said, according to campaign officials. “It's something I feel strongly about you all hearing and taking with you when you go out. And telling your friends. We're going to win this election. We're going to win.”
NBC News reached out to Biden's campaign for comment.
The fallout from the conversation comes after donations to the Biden-Harris campaign and Democratic groups have plummeted and Harris has been called in multiple times to talk to donors as questions arise about Biden's future on the list.
The conversation with donors began with presentations from organizers expressing their anger about the ongoing debate within the Democratic Party over whether to support President Biden, based on what they had seen and heard from voters on the ground, a source with direct knowledge of the discussion said.
One source said that before Harris joined, there appeared to be an effort to stall, which they said is normal for events involving high-level officials. But what angered many donors, the source said, was that during the wait — which lasted about 20 minutes — donors were “admonished.” Call participants were told to “buckle up and get behind Biden” and not try to push the president away.
“Please help us turn down the volume of this public conversation,” Melissa Morales, founder and president of Somos Votantes, said during the call, according to a transcript obtained by NBC News. “It’s time to stop the leaks and the rampant rumors. Your message has been heard and received. But every day we continue this publicly chaotic conversation, we come closer to losing — regardless of who the nominee is.”
This did not go down well with some in the conversation.
“These are donors who are not used to being reprimanded and told what to do,” the source said.
Another source present at the meeting, who supports Harris as the Democratic candidate, pushed back against the donor's frustrations.
The person said that many donors thought they would get confidential and insightful information, but they immediately went to the media and demonstrated why they should not get that information.
Meanwhile, Harris spoke at a campaign rally in Provincetown, Massachusetts, on Saturday, praising Biden as one of the most influential presidents in history.
Harris received applause at several parts of her speech as she spoke about her and Biden's pasts, including her advocacy for LGBTQ rights.
But the loudest applause from the crowd came when someone in the crowd of 1,000 people shouted, “Go get him, Kamala,” as Harris criticized Trump.
The applause lasted for several seconds as Harris smiled and looked out at the cheering crowd of about a thousand people.
After Harris left the stage, Lennie Alickman, 63, said she wanted Biden to step aside.
“She's walking a tightrope. She has to be very careful not to alienate Biden,” Alickman said when asked about Harris's praise of Biden during the speech. “I would actually like to see Kamala at the top of the list. She could carry out and continue the policies of the Biden administration. I like Biden, but I'm not sure he's up to the task. And I'm afraid he's going to lose to Trump.”
John Newton, 75, who attended the fundraiser, also said he thinks Biden should withdraw from the race and wants Harris to become the party's nominee.
“I love Joe,” Newton said. “In a business context, it's like your 81-year-old salesman who goes down at the convention and doesn't hit his numbers. And you have to go in and tell him, 'Judy's replacing you.' It's not fun. But unfortunately, that's what has to happen.”
Harris concluded her speech at the event, which reportedly raised $2 million, with a talk about her campaign manager when she ran for San Francisco district attorney.
She said he told her, “You have to recognize what you're up against — and know that those who oppose progress will always try to suggest that a movement for freedom is somehow subversive and that it undermines who we are as a nation or our traditions. But what we know is that it strengthens who we are as a nation when we fight to expand rights.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
