DNC fundraiser takes aim at 'vindictive' torrent of criticism over Hegseth comments

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Prominent Democratic National Committee (DNC) powerhouse Lindy Li is facing fierce backlash from members of her own party after she expressed support for President-elect Donald Trump’s defense secretary nominee, Pete Hegseth.

She said her position touched off a level of intraparty vitriol that took her off guard, to the point where some are calling for her to leave the Democratic Party altogether.

Li, a Democrat strategist, served as both a surrogate for Vice President Harris and a member of the DNC’s national fundraising committee, a membership for which she noted requires raising "millions of dollars" on behalf of Democrat candidates. She also appeared nearly every day on the air to stump for Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign.

Li said that what's happening to her underscores the party’s broader posture of finger-pointing and internal blame even after its wide election losses.

So, it was in this context that she appeared on NewsNation's "Morning in America" show over the weekend and offered what she described as "restrained support" for Hegseth, Li told Fox News Digital on Monday. The two share Princeton University as their alma mater and both appeared at the same time on "Fox & Friends" this fall.

Asked about his nomination on Sunday, Li told host Markie Martin, "I actually think he’s a pretty good guy."

Lindy Li speaks on "Fox & Friends Weekend" after the 2024 elections. (Fox News)

"Maybe you’re looking for someone to oppose the nomination, but I actually have personal interactions with [Hegseth]," she said, adding that, "because I’ve been on Fox and Friends – I’ve met Pete, he’s my fellow Princetonian."

Li repeatedly declined to answer questions about Hegseth's path to confirmation amid allegations of alcohol abuse and sexual misconduct. Hegseth has denied any wrongdoing.

Still, the torrent of criticism continued, ranging from party leaders to public voices within the party who urged her on social media and in text messages reviewed by Fox News Digital to resign or be "fired," to which Li scoffed because she, in her current capacity, is not on any DNC payroll. (As a Democrat strategist and fundraiser, she has raised millions of dollars for both President Biden and Harris in their respective presidential campaigns, and she appeared on TV countless times. Her family has also donated buildings, including a Philadelphia-area church.)

Still, Li said, the criticism caused her to question, to some degree, her allegiance to the very party for which she's raised millions of dollars during the 2024 election cycle alone.

"I'm not just some random donor. I am one of the biggest, if not the biggest, Asian-American fundraiser on the Democratic side," she said.

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Democrat presidential nominee Vice President Harris speaks at a rally in Houston on Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Instead, Li said she sees the fallout over the fairly innocuous comment as a "microcosm of what is wrong with the Democratic Party" by "permitting no dissent, no criticism."

She said this bolsters the contention held by certain factions within the Democratic Party: the leadership has learned the wrong lessons after their losses in the 2024 House, Senate and presidential races. Instead of engaging in an open dialogue with the public about their missteps, they have become more resolute on intraparty blame and finger-pointing.

Li described a "vindictive" effort by some leadership to discount her support and the millions she has raised on behalf of their party.

She also took aim at some Democrat leaders’ decisions to reinforce the idea of identity politics, a strategy embraced most prominently by outgoing Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison.

Harrison, whose leadership role ends in February, has sharply dismissed critics within the party who have urged them to take a different path forward after their resounding losses in 2024.

He also used a speech last week to push back on the notion that Democrats need to abandon "identity politics," despite criticism that embracing these issues may have prompted their losses in key swing states.

Li said she and others think that’s part of the problem.

"Harrison is asking us to double down on identity politics. And I think that's a counterproductive strategy," Li said in the interview.

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Vice President Harris and President Biden (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin/File)

"It’s just insane," she said. "If you want an explanation for why they lost, this is it," Li added, taking aim at what she described as the Democratic Party's "purity tests" and the "purging" of Democrats regarded as out of step or failing to toe the party line.

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In the meantime, Li said she is not facing a shortage of options as she weighs what a future role in the Democratic Party could look like, or if she even wants to stay with it.

"I think I'm too big to fully exile from the party," Li said of her contributions to the DNC. "The leadership knows that." 

"People on Trump's team have already reached out to me to see if I'd be willing to switch," Li added. "So, I'm not an orphan, you know? And I know people are actively trying to recruit me."