Netflix co-founder calls on Biden to step down

Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings has called for Joe Biden to step down from the 2024 presidential race.

Writing to The New York Times, Hastings said that Biden “needs to step aside to allow a vigorous Democratic leader to beat Trump and keep us safe and prosperous”.

Alongside his wife, Patty Quillin, Hastings has donated over $20 million to the Democrat Party in recent years including $1.5 million to Biden’s 2020 election campaign, as reported by US news outlets.

The party mega-donor has joined other outspoken figures in calling for Biden to step down, following the President’s performance in last week’s debate against Donald Trump.

Hastings, who founded Netflix with Marc Randolph in 1997, stepped down as company CEO last year.

While Hastings is one of the first donors to speak out, three Democrat House Representatives have also voiced their concerns over Biden’s ability to beat Trump.

The latest, Massachusetts representative Seth Moulton, posted a statement on social media in which he voiced his respect for Biden, but also his  “grave concerns about his ability to defeat Donald Trump”.

"Beating Trump is imperative for the future of our democracy, especially now that the Supreme Court handed him a blank check to act like a king", said Moulton.

My thoughts on where things stand with President Biden and the state of the race: pic.twitter.com/z4lEP4GeoF

— Seth Moulton (@sethmoulton) July 3, 2024

The White House has denied reports that Biden’s donors and allies are putting pressure on him to drop out of the race.