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FIRST ON FOX: 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.
Li said she threaded that political needle by staying far away from any criticism of Biden.
“It was all charade. 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.
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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Lindy Li, a former fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee, left, pictured alongside former Vice President Kamala Harris, right. (Lindy Li; Christian Bruna/Getty Images)
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.
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. She also detailed how others, like Harris, quickly moved to prepare themselves for what would happen next.
In Li’s view, Harris prioritized face time with donors she knew could soon back her own 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. All the while she was auditioning for those very donors,” Li said.
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Lindy Li, a former Democratic fundraiser, left, posing for a picture with former President Joe Biden, right at a 2023 campaign event. (Lindy Li)
Li recalled how, in one case, Harris addressed donors about Biden’s viability as a candidate two days before Biden bowed out.
“It was either on July 19th or July 20th. 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. And these were some of the biggest donors in the party,” Li recalled.
Biden announced that he would no longer pursue reelection on July 21.
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.
“She was flattering people left and right. The first 24 hours were a very intensive charm offensive on her part. And that’s how she was able to consolidate it so quickly. She flattered people up the wazoo. It made it abundantly clear that Biden had endorsed her. And Biden initially — I don’t know if people know this, but he didn’t want to endorse her right away. It took him a while.”
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.
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Kamala Harris reveals in her new memoir how she rejected campaign talking points claiming Biden won his disastrous debate performance against Trump in 2024. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
“A lot of us have group chats. And the immediate reaction is what an effing waste of time. What a charade, how fake. Like these are like the wealthiest people in the country saying 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.
“It was insulting.”
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Representatives for Harris did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.