President Biden He is facing intense scrutiny over his apparent reliance on a teleprompter in closed-door meetings with Democratic donors after last week’s presidential debate.
MSNBC political analyst John Heilemann revealed on his “Impolitic” podcast that donors are “nervous” that Biden might go off script during his private fundraising.
“To go back to my various donor friends, over the last six months, what’s happened to some of the donors who call Biden at their house is they all get nervous about one thing, which you guys can understand. He comes in — and it’s a group of people, the friendliest people you can imagine, they’re all writing him big checks. He speaks for about 15 minutes on a prompter at every little dinner event,” Heilman said on Friday’s podcast,
“He never ad-libs. He’s never off the prompter … I mean, you’re sitting with a group of 40 millionaires who are writing you huge checks. You have to give remarks for 15 minutes at a dinner, and you’re on the prompter. Again, does that make him a bad president? No. Does that make him unfit to be president? No. Does it bother donors that he needs to be on the prompter? It bothers them,” he said.
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It has been revealed in recent days that President Biden relies on a teleprompter in private meetings with donors. (Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“It was off the prompter for about an hour and a half, that’s what it feels like right now. And as the debate went on, it got better, but in the worst moments, it felt like that’s why he was put on the prompter. And this is not an issue that’s going to go away,” Heilman said.
The explosive claim was confirmed the next day by former President Trump’s one-time White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, who is now a Biden supporter.
“I went to President Biden’s fundraiser in East Hampton and I thought he did a really good job today reading the teleprompter and meeting people.” Scaramucci wrote X “However, this is not enough to prove to the American people that he will remain in power for the next four years,” he warned.
MSNBC’s John Heilemann says Democratic donors told him they are “bewildered” by why Biden needs a teleprompter at his meetings.
Scaramucci’s post instantly went viral.
Former CNN host Brian Stelter reacted, saying, “He uses a teleprompter to raise money?”
“Teleprompters at a fundraiser?” former Rep. Scott Taylor, R-Va., wondered.
“Nothing exudes more confidence than using a teleprompter for a few minutes at a fundraiser,” wrote Denver radio host Ross Kaminsky.
“If he’s using a teleprompter to raise funds, everything else written here is irrelevant,” said CNN contributor Shermichael Singleton. “Why would he need a script at a private, closed event with a small number of people? Having worked for three presidential candidates and one president, I’ve never seen any of them use a teleprompter for a private fundraiser — it’s simply never been needed. Clearly, the continued reliance on scripting the POTUS is done for a reason, and it’s not a good reason.”
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The Wall Street Journal also reported on the use of teleprompters in “highly controlled” donor meetings.
“Some donors described an event as overly controlled, with Biden reading from a teleprompter and allowing little time for meaningful exchanges with the donors who drive the campaign.” The Journal wrote on Saturday,
The Biden campaign has not responded. Fox News DigitalRequested for comment.
President Biden’s shocking debate performance has sparked chaos among Democrats and fueled calls for him to drop out of the presidential race. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
Biden’s shocking debate performance has become a political storm, with a large portion of the liberal media calling for him to withdraw from the presidential race.
“Mr. Biden has been an admirable president. Under his leadership, the nation has prospered and begun to address many long-term challenges, and the wounds opened by Mr. Trump are beginning to heal. But the greatest public service Mr. Biden can perform now is to announce that he will not seek re-election,” The New York Times editorial board wrote on Friday,
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However, top Democrats, including former President Obama, stand in support of Biden.
“There are bad argument nights. Trust me, I know,” Obama said in a statement Friday. “But this election is still an election between a man who has fought for ordinary people his whole life and a man who only cares about himself. Between a man who tells the truth; who knows right and wrong and tells the American people straight — and a man who lies for his own benefit. Last night didn’t change that, and that’s why there’s so much at stake in November.”
