Mike Novogratz won’t help Joe Biden, will back Dean Phillips

Veteran investor and longtime Joe Biden supporter Mike Novogratz is switching sides to fundraise for Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., the president’s long shot primary opponent.

Novogratz, the CEO of cryptocurrency-focused Galaxy Investment Partners, will co-host a campaign fundraiser for Phillips on Saturday in New York City at the home of David Barry, the president and CEO of real estate firm Urby, according to an invitation reviewed by CNBC. Invitees are encouraged to give $3,300 to attend.

In 2020, Novogratz donated $200,000 to the Biden Action Fund, a joint fundraising committee for both the Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee, according to a Federal Election Commission filing.

Novogratz also donated more than $1 million that year to a super PAC called Defeat by Tweet, which sought to use Donald Trump’s tweets against him.

“I worked hard in 2020” for Biden, Novogratz told CNBC. This time around, “I think he’s too old. I think Trump is too old, too. We need fresh people.” Biden turned 81 in November, while Trump turns 78 next June.

Novogratz, 59, views Phillips as a smart centrist with a strong business record. He also plans to meet with former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley next month, as he contemplates helping her defeat Trump.

A Biden campaign spokesman said he didn’t know Novogratz and wished him well. “I don’t know who that is but we appreciate his support of the president and wish him the best,” Biden campaign spokesman TJ Ducklo said in a statement. Biden is coming off a successful West Coast fundraising swing, bringing in over $15 million over the course of just a few days.

Novogratz is one of a small group of wealthy Biden supporters who are looking for an alternative to the party’s incumbent. Chamath Palihapitiya, a longtime tech executive, backed Biden in 2020 but publicly soured on him and co-hosted a fundraiser for independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Novogratz’s concerns about Biden’s age are shared by voters. An August Associated Press poll found that 77% of respondents said Biden was too old to be effective in a second term.

Biden’s approval ratings are currently around 40%, according to a November NBC News poll.

Novogratz has also been critical of the Biden administration’s stance on cryptocurrency. He recently claimed at a business summit in Miami that the “Biden administration, the Democratic Party really doesn’t like crypto.”

Still, even with the support of people like Novogratz, Phillips remains a long shot candidate for president.

A recent Morning Consult poll shows Biden ahead of Phillips by 69 percentage points.

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