EXCLUSIVE: A prominent former fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) revealed that donors are fed up with the Democratic Party, claiming that it is in "shambles" following the presidential election.
Lindy Li, a well-known fundraiser who raised money for the Democrats' 2024 presidential campaign, announced her exit from the party in December after being ostracized for criticizing then-Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris.
Speaking to Fox News Digital after President Donald Trump assumed office, Li, who has raised tens of millions of dollars for Democrats over the years, said the party she once stumped for is now "completely rudderless."
"Democratic donors absolutely, without a single exception, they are so angry and upset with the state of the party. They think the party is in complete shambles," Li told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.
"It's their religion, it's their god, woke is their god. This trans, woke insanity – they are enthralled by it," Li said.
"Companies are running as fast as they can from this toxic agenda, yet the Democratic Party is doubling down time and time again on this," the former Democratic fundraiser added. "Honestly, it's gender hysteria. It's almost like a social contagion."
Celebrities, such as Beyoncé and Cardi B, were criticized for reportedly accepting payments from the Harris campaign to appear and speak at events.
The artists have denied accepting payments from the campaign, but Li said that they "lied about not getting paid."
"All their production companies were getting compensated," Li told Fox.
After Beyoncé did not perform during her appearance at a Harris campaign event in October, critics claimed attendees had been intentionally misled.
"I honestly believe that the campaign used that to generate attention and publicity for their event," Li said in an interview.
After suffering defeat in the 2024 presidential election, Li said there is "no one on the horizon" to lead the Democratic Party into the next election cycle.
The former DNC official said the "humanity and kindness" she has received from Republicans has been "unbelievable" and that she is "optimistic" that she will retain her donors after leaving the Democratic Party, as she will now raise money for Republican candidates.
EXCLUSIVE: A prominent former fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) revealed that donors are fed up with the Democratic Party, claiming that it is in "shambles" following the presidential election.
Lindy Li, a well-known fundraiser who raised money for the Democrats' 2024 presidential campaign, announced her exit from the party in December after being ostracized for criticizing then-Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris.
Speaking to Fox News Digital after President Donald Trump assumed office, Li, who has raised tens of millions of dollars for Democrats over the years, said the party she once stumped for is now "completely rudderless."
"Democratic donors absolutely, without a single exception, they are so angry and upset with the state of the party. They think the party is in complete shambles," Li told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.
"It's their religion, it's their god, woke is their god. This trans, woke insanity – they are enthralled by it," Li said.
"Companies are running as fast as they can from this toxic agenda, yet the Democratic Party is doubling down time and time again on this," the former Democratic fundraiser added. "Honestly, it's gender hysteria. It's almost like a social contagion."
Celebrities, such as Beyoncé and Cardi B, were criticized for reportedly accepting payments from the Harris campaign to appear and speak at events.
The artists have denied accepting payments from the campaign, but Li said that they "lied about not getting paid."
"All their production companies were getting compensated," Li told Fox.
After Beyoncé did not perform during her appearance at a Harris campaign event in October, critics claimed attendees had been intentionally misled.
"I honestly believe that the campaign used that to generate attention and publicity for their event," Li said in an interview.
After suffering defeat in the 2024 presidential election, Li said there is "no one on the horizon" to lead the Democratic Party into the next election cycle.
The former DNC official said the "humanity and kindness" she has received from Republicans has been "unbelievable" and that she is "optimistic" that she will retain her donors after leaving the Democratic Party, as she will now raise money for Republican candidates.
Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., has spent the better part of the last decade in Indiana, running various businesses and coaching his sons’ baseball team.
Before that, he had a front-row seat for most of the Obama administration, followed by the meteoric and unprecedented rise of now-President Donald Trump. Stutzman was a part of political history himself, having been one of the original members of the House Freedom Caucus — a group that has grown to be known as a bastion of ideological conservatism and, at times, a thorn in the side of House GOP leaders.
Now he’s back as one of several first-term House Republicans, succeeding Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., as a member of a perilously thin House GOP majority.
But according to Stutzman, who previously served in Congress from 2010 to 2017, he sees Republicans as more aligned with each other than before.
"I feel like it's different. I don't think the GOP conference is as far apart — you know, moderates to conservatives — as it was back in 2010," he told Fox News Digital in an interview.
"I was looking at the membership in 2010, and there were true moderates. I think we're actually much closer together now than what we were back then. And, of course, we had large majorities. So that creates other challenges. So having a tight majority is not a bad thing at all. It actually makes you unify."
He credited that re-alignment in large part to Trump, pointing out that he and other Republicans were first elected in 2010 as a backlash against former President Barack Obama rather than in support of the leading party’s agenda.
"We won the 2010 election because it was a reaction to Obama. And in 2020 — I mean, you could say every election is a reaction to the incumbent party, but I think in this case, after the Biden years, the American people elected Trump because they believed he could move the country forward," Stutzman said.
"And so we have a leader that is casting a vision and is clear in his messaging, and it gives us the chance to, you know, coalesce behind his leadership. So that's a huge help, compared to 2010."
He also disputed the notion that the Freedom Caucus was founded to be "obstructionist" to House GOP leaders, despite members of the group leading well-known coups against senior Republicans in the past.
"There's a lot of smart people that wanted to just be part of a group that looked at things from every angle and was really being productive. And so that's why I wanted to join it, because I wanted to be at a place that I could learn, I could really dive deep and learn from other people and staff that were part of the caucus to really understand the policy, but also talk through the strategy," he said.
"It was never designed to be an obstructionist caucus. There have been times that it's definitely been labeled that and accused of that . . . any obstruction was to stop bad things from happening. Not to obstruct the good things from moving forward."
Stutzman said that being a private citizen running businesses for eight years gave him perspective on the value of consensus-building, allowing him to return to Congress with an emphasis on the "big picture."
"You're never going to get everything you want. You know, find a way to support the team and find a way to support us to a yes," Stutzman reflected.
"Now, look, there's going to be times when you just say no, And that's just part of negotiating. But I think the main thing is just fight hard, offer everything you have. But then at the end of the day, let's take a win and then move on to the next fight."
Fundraising messages centered around President Donald Trump have continued to dominate on both sides of the political aisle since his return to the White House.
The Democrats' messages revolve around voicing their opposition to Trump’s second term, his executive orders, and action by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has become a cornerstone of Trump’s first month back in the Oval Office.
"Americans are starting to feel the disastrous effects of a Trump-Musk presidency, and we see that sentiment reflected in our top-performing messaging, which highlights the need to fight the extremes of Donald Trump and prepare for elections this year, in 2026 and beyond," DNC Senior Spokesperson Hannah Muldavin told Fox News Digital.
Muldavin said the DNC's most effective fundraising messages have centered around "the extremes of Donald Trump."
"Our most effective outreach to grassroots supporters right now comes from our new Chair Ken Martin, who talks about not just fighting the extremes of Donald Trump, but also on making the case to working families in both red and blue states that Democrats are the party fighting for them," Muldavin added.
The Democratic National Committee’s website opened this week to a photo of Ken Martin, newly elected DNC Chair, with a simple message: "Ken Martin is the new DNC Chair. Help Democrats mobilize against Trump." A fundraising message on the donation page invites Democrats to "pitch in to the DNC and help elect Democrats nationwide."
"The DNC is the organization best positioned to fight back, organize, and stop the worst impulses of a Trump administration. So please don’t wait: donate now to elect Democrats who will fight back against the MAGA agenda," the message says.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has a similar strategy with a down-ballot focus. On the DCCC website, a photo of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries appears next to a fundraising message inviting supporters to "become a majority maker."
"At the DCCC, we're laser-focused on the midterms and taking back the House from the MAGA Majority," the message says. "With just THREE seats standing between us and the Majority, your monthly donation will help us do everything we can to flip the House blue and build a firewall against the Trump Trifecta. Will you make a recurring monthly donation to the DCCC to fuel our work today?"
Trump’s fundraising apparatus has also capitalized on his return to center stage. Trump National Committee, the joint super PAC of Never Surrender and the Republican National Committee, have maintained consistent fundraising outreach since Trump’s election victory.
"Trump is the center of the universe at the moment," Republican strategist Matt Gorman, who worked on Senator Tim Scott’s presidential campaign and as communications director for the National Republican Congressional Committee, told Fox News Digital. "It's been pretty well proven over the last decade that Trump animates the fundraising base of both parties and utilizing him is an effective strategy."
As soon as Nov. 6, just a day after the election, a message "from Trump" to his supporters read, "TOTAL VICTORY! Because of you, WE WON!" with a link to donate to Trump’s super PAC. The messages continued in the weeks and months leading up to his inauguration.
The tone of the messages took a turn after Democrat Rep. Al Green, D-T.X., who attempted to impeach Trump three times during his first term, announced that he would file articles of impeachment against the president for saying he would "take over" Gaza.
Green said on the House floor the next day that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "should be ashamed, knowing the history of his people, to stand there and allow such things to be said."
"Before Democrats introduce Articles of Impeachment, can you answer question #1?" a fundraising message from Trump's super PAC asked the next day.
Then last week, the PAC sent a message from Vice President JD Vance that read, "Don't pee on my boots & tell me it's raining. It's JD Vance. These are the top lies I've seen from Democrats."
"Democrats don’t have any policies. All they have is lies. Nobody believes their crap. So on behalf of every American who is sick of their lies, I got one thing to say: Don’t pee on my boots & tell me it’s raining. Democrats can’t stand that we have a President who’s putting the working men & women of America first, AND NOW THEY’RE THREATENING TO IMPEACH TRUMP AGAIN!"
The message from Republicans is clear: Democrats do not have policies beyond resisting Trump.
"Their identity for the last ten years has been, simply, 'Whatever Trump is for, I'm against,'" Gorman said.
While using Trump’s name can be an effective fundraising strategy, Gorman urged candidates to move past the moniker and step into policy discussions as well.
"Policy is really important, too. Every candidate has to articulate what they stand for, how they'd be different from their opponent and what they bring to Washington or to the statehouse. Trump is helpful in every aspect, but it's important to make sure you're defining what you would do in your policies as well."
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