Mark Halperin says donors who ignored Biden’s state ‘blame him’ for election loss ‘more than themselves’

Political analyst and best-selling author Mark Halperin said that President Biden’s presidential library may become more of a "bookmobile" as donors stew about his loss. 

Democrats are still reeling weeks later from the loss of the 2024 election to President-elect Donald Trump, as well as the more recent blanket pardon of Biden’s son Hunter Biden. The pardon has been particularly controversial because Biden appears to have hidden his intention to pardon as a political tactic when running against Trump.

As a result, President Biden appears to have fallen from the Democratic Party’s good graces, to the point where some frustrated Democrats are reportedly considering withholding donations to President Biden's future presidential library over his pardon of Hunter.

Halperin suggested to Fox News’ Jesse Watters that Biden may not be getting a full-fledged library as a result.

Political analyst Mark Halperin argued Biden's hopes for a library may be dashed by lack of donor support.

2 TIMES BIDEN SAID HE WOULD NOT PARDON SON HUNTER BIDEN 

"I mean there will be some version, maybe more like a bookmobile than an actual library," he told Watters. "But this is not a surprise. He’s never been a good fundraiser and the donors are really annoyed."

Halperin argued that the donors themselves, along with the liberal media, are partly to blame.

"But I will say that the donors and the democratic officials who are now so outraged about the conduct – as you said, the press knew all this – so did they," he said. "They stood silent when Joe Biden’s operatives crushed Bobby Kennedy and Dean Phillips and rigged the rules. They stood silent as he stayed in the race and decided he was going to run for another term. They stood silent when Kamala Harris was given the nomination without a shot being fired."

Halperin suggested now might be a time of reflection for Democrats.

"I get why they are mad at Joe Biden, but I think a lot of them need to turn the clock back and imagine what they might have done differently, and Joe Biden might be in a place to raise the money," he said. "So I think he will raise some money, but as I said, he’s never been a good fundraiser, it’s the kind of work he doesn’t like to do and the donors blame him more than themselves."

FILE - President Joe Biden, wearing a Team USA jacket and walking with his son Hunter Biden, heads toward Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, July 26, 2024.  (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

HUNTER BIDEN SAYS HIS MISTAKES WERE ‘EXPLOITED’ FOR POLITICAL SPORT, SAYS HE WON'T TAKE PARDON FOR GRANTED

Halperin argued that Biden’s purported mental decline has been obvious since 2017, but a combination of factors have shielded him from criticism.

"It’s some combination of Trump Derangement Syndrome and not wanting to be ostracized for doing anything that might help Donald Trump win," Halperin said. "The irony is the reason Joe Biden has been left in the position he’s in, the reason Donald Trump was reelected, there are plenty of reasons, but a big reason is the silence in the media. I think it’s one of the biggest scandals of any sort in American history and certainly one of the biggest media scandals."

He continued, "People say ‘Oh, they didn’t see behind the scenes.’ All you needed was a C-SPAN subscription to know there was a level of mental decline, and they stood silent," he said. "And not just the press, but the donors, the donors were spending time with him in living rooms. They saw it, Clooney eventually came out and said it, but far too late."

Alexander Hall is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..