Lindy Li, a former Democratic fundraiser and party insider who now criticizes the current administration, claims in an interview with Fox News Digital that Kamala Harris was positioning herself to replace Joe Biden days before he dropped out of his re-election bid. According to Li’s book "Unburdened," Harris held a call with top donors on July 19 or 20, 2024, downplaying the likelihood of Biden dropping out while simultaneously courting their support for her own potential candidacy. Li asserts that this behavior was part of Harris's strategy to quickly consolidate support after Biden’s official announcement on July 21, suggesting a level of political maneuvering and insincerity within the Democratic leadership.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-14,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Lindy Li, a former Democratic Party fundraiser and author of "Unburdened," claims that Kamala Harris was positioning herself to gain financial support from Biden’s donors just days before he dropped out of the 2024 race. According to Li, Harris did this while publicly maintaining her loyalty to Biden. This strategy included a stipulation for her staff not to discuss her potential nomination. Li switched political parties after recognizing warning signs about President Joe Biden's declining prospects well ahead of his eventual withdrawal from the campaign following what she describes as his "disastrous debate." Li’s insider perspective, detailed in her book, reveals that even close associates of Biden anticipated his likely exit before the event. As a key figure within the DNC and a fundraiser for both Biden and Harris, Li had unique insight into their respective campaigns' financial strategies.
Written for “Biden Dropping Out Insulting” on 2026-09-15,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.65, but all 4 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
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Leaning score withheld for article 9432: attributed speech only · logged 2026-09-14
Lindy Li, a former Democratic fundraiser who switched party affiliation over unheeded warning signs about President Joe Biden's decline in the 2024 election, believes Kamala Harris was setting herself up to poach Biden’s donors just days before he dropped out of the race — while still telling voters he could win.
uncertain
he → switch → voters
Li said she threaded that political needle by staying far away from any criticism of Biden.
asserted
she → say → Biden
She was auditioning for Biden's endorsement, and the way that she did it was by imposing a fake rule on her staff to not talk about her ascending to the nomination," Li said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.
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Li → audition → Digital
Li’s chronicling of the months leading up to Biden's suspended campaign, which are included in her book, "Unburdened," adds more detail about how even those closest to Biden understood that his campaign would likely come to a grinding halt following his disastrous 2024 debate — and even before it.
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campaign → lead → it
As a top fundraiser for both Biden and Harris and someone who had achieved a high profile with the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Li worked with both teams to raise campaign contributions.
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Li → achieve → contributions
In the wake of the election, Li has gone public with much of her insider knowledge, raising the alarm over just how many figures inside the Democratic Party had seen the writing on the wall but remained silent.
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figures → go → wall
She also detailed how others, like Harris, quickly moved to prepare themselves for what would happen next.
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what → detail → themselves
In Li’s view, Harris prioritized face time with donors she knew could soon back her own bid.
uncertain
she → prioritize → bid
"I was on the call; she would host calls with donors and pretend to support Biden and say there's no daylight between Biden and herself.
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she → host → Biden
All the while she was auditioning for those very donors," Li said.
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Li → audition → donors
Li recalled how, in one case, Harris addressed donors about Biden’s viability as a candidate two days before Biden bowed out.
"
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Biden → recall → candidate
Actually, I think it was July 19, 2024; Kamala Harris held a call saying that there was no way that Biden would drop out and that she would stick with him until the end.
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she → think → end
And these were some of the biggest donors in the party," Li recalled.
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Li → recall → party
Biden announced that he would no longer pursue reelection on July 21.
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he → announce → July
After Biden’s announcement, Li recalled that Harris moved aggressively within the Democratic camp to shore up support, insinuating that she had some form of Biden’s backing.
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she → recall → backing
"She was flattering people left and right.
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She → flatter → people
And that's how she was able to consolidate it so quickly.
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she → consolidate → it
She flattered people up the wazoo.
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She → flatter → wazoo
It made it abundantly clear that Biden had endorsed her.
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Biden → make → her
And Biden initially — I don't know if people know this, but he didn't want to endorse her right away.
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he → know → her
It took him a while."
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It → take → while
Notably, although Biden would endorse Harris later that same day, he announced he would not pursue reelection, his support of Harris came as a second message, roughly 30 minutes later.
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support → endorse → message
Despite the vice president’s efforts to maintain her support of Biden and back his viability, Li recalled that some of those same donors didn’t buy her story,
"A lot of us have group chats.
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lot → maintain → chats
Like these are like the wealthiest people in the country saying that.
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people → say → that
They were very aware they were being lied to, that Biden was clearly not okay and to be told that he was okay when he was clearly incapacitated," Li said.
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Li → lie → ?
Representatives for Harris did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
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Representatives → respond → Digital
The Aporia
