House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries traveled to Los Angeles for a high-profile fundraiser, but several prominent Hollywood donors opted to stay home, expressing frustration with the Democratic Party’s handling of former President Donald Trump. Discontent among left-wing donors has grown in recent months, with many withholding financial support.
According to Deadline, a media producer who typically attends Democratic fundraisers dismissed the event, stating, “I’m not interested, skipping it.” The fundraiser, hosted by left-wing activist Hope Warschaw, offered tickets priced between $10,000 and $100,000, with proceeds benefiting the Jeffries Victory Fund. However, enthusiasm appeared lacking among traditional donors.
One donor criticized the party’s lack of strategy against Trump, saying, “Why is there no plan, no strategy besides showing up on MSNBC?” Another added, “The Democrats are all about the midterms, great. But that’s next year, they’re blowing it against Trump now. A lot of that is on Hakeem, Schumer, Pelosi, and the rest of them.”
Aside from the fundraiser, Jeffries planned a smaller, exclusive dinner with supporters, but even that event saw notable absences. Some donors also voiced frustration over Vice President Kamala Harris’s 2024 campaign, feeling misled about the party’s electoral prospects. “They told us [Kamala] Harris was going to win, they told us they had the votes, and then they lost every single swing state,” said a publicist connected to the Harris campaign. “We were lied to, or misinformed at best, and we got Trump again.”
The dissatisfaction follows a recent division within the Democratic Party after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) voted to support a government funding bill backed by Trump and House Republicans. Some House Democrats expressed a desire to see Schumer face a primary challenge, criticizing his decision to prioritize government funding over opposition to Trump-backed legislation.
Mathew Littman, a partner at HowLitt and leader of the left-wing activist group The Working Group, acknowledged the growing frustration within Hollywood. “I think people in the entertainment industry are very, very frustrated by what is going on in DC,” he told Deadline.
“Instead of going after Elon Musk and Trump, who we should be calling out every day, we are going after Democrats,” Littman said at an event in Virginia, underscoring the growing internal conflict among party supporters.
