Former President Joe Biden spoke of “dark days” in the U.S., but also struck an optimistic tone regarding the future.
Former President Joe Biden has reportedly raised only a “small fraction” of the funds needed to construct a presidential library, according to a report from The New York Times on Saturday.
The report, based on public filings and interviews with Biden’s donors, said the former president’s library foundation did not receive any new donations in 2024 and was instead seeded with $4 million left over from his 2021 inauguration.
According to The Times, the library foundation declined to share how much it had raised in 2025, and told the outlet that Biden was only now beginning to actively raise money for the project.
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“Still, Mr. Biden’s foundation told the I.R.S. this year that it expected to bring in just $11.3 million, total, by the end of 2027. That would be far below the pace set by other recent presidents, and far less than the $200 million that Mr. Biden’s aides say they want to raise eventually,” The Times reported.
Although it’s not technically a presidential library, for contrast, former President Barack Obama’s “presidential center” in Chicago has raised $1.5 billion so far, according to new filings. President Donald Trump announced that he is setting out to raise more than $950 million before he leaves office, for his planned library in Miami.
The outlet alleged that due to “poor fund-raising,” there are discussions underway about consolidating a future library with pre-existing “Biden institutions” already constructed at the University of Delaware. The Times noted that by doing this, it could potentially allow the library to tap into the millions of dollars that the university, the former president’s alma mater, has already secured to build a “Biden Hall.”
“So far, some of Mr. Biden’s most loyal contributors said they had not been contacted by anyone about giving to the library. Other Democratic donors have said that even if Mr. Biden asks them, they are unlikely to give money because they are focused on fighting President Trump or are embittered by Mr. Biden’s term in office,” The Times reported.
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John Morgan, a longtime donor to the Democratic Party and one of Biden’s top supporters, told The Times that he would not give “a penny” towards the library, citing poor treatment from Biden’s staff.
“The Biden staff, they ruined any type of good library for him,” Morgan told the outlet. “He’ll be lucky to have a bookmobile.”
The Times added some context to Morgan’s decision not to help fund Biden’s library, writing, “As a point of contrast, Mr. Morgan said he had dinner with former President Bill Clinton last week to discuss a possible donation to his library for an expansion. Mr. Morgan said Mr. Clinton and former President Barack Obama kept much better relations with their donors and supporters, which has enabled them to build large foundations and libraries.”
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Biden’s library foundation put out a statement announcing that it had delayed fundraisers until now to allow time for “intensive research,” which includes visits to other presidential libraries.
“Mr. Biden has said little about his plans, beyond that he wants his library to be somewhere in Delaware, his home state. Aides say he envisions something smaller and cheaper than Mr. Obama’s center,” The Times wrote. “Even so, he appears far short of the $200 million goal.”
According to The Times, the Biden Hall and the Biden Library are currently two separate projects, “competing for the same pool of donors.” The outlet added that “many loyalists say they hope that the library could be housed inside the hall, turning two projects into one.”
When asked by The Times for comment, the University of Delaware said it had not transferred any money to the Biden library foundation, and declined to comment on a potential merger of the two projects. The Biden library foundation also declined to return The Times’ request for comment on whether it was considering a merger of the Biden Hall and the Biden Library projects.
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“We continue to be in an exploratory and planning phase,” Kelly Scully, a spokeswoman for Biden told The Times.
