Actor George Clooney published an opinion piece in the New York Times Wednesday calling on President Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race, saying Democrats have “opted to ignore every warning sign” and Biden could save democracy by dropping out—joining a number of other Democratic celebrities who have stopped backing the president.
In an opinion piece published in the New York Times, lifelong Democrat George Clooney said Biden is ... [+]
Clooney said while Biden has “won many of the battles he’s faced,” he cannot win “the fight against time,” adding he considers Biden a friend but the president is no longer “the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010.”
“Our party leaders need to stop telling us that 51 million people didn’t see what we just saw,” Clooney wrote, referring to Biden’s poor debate performance nearly two weeks ago.
On Monday, author Stephen King said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Biden has “been a fine president, but it’s time for him—in the interests of the America he so clearly loves—to announce he will not run for re-election.”
Actor Rob Reiner also rescinded his support for Biden on Monday, saying in a post on X Biden has “effectively served US with honor, decency and dignity,” but it’s time for him to step down, adding: “if the Convicted Felon wins, we lose our Democracy.”
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“As Democrats, we collectively hold our breath or turn down the volume whenever we see the president, who we respect, walk off Air Force One or walk back to a mic to answer an unscripted question,” Clooney wrote.
$28 million. That’s how much the Biden campaign said Clooney helped them raise at a star-studded Los Angeles fundraiser he co-hosted just last month. Among the guests and speakers were former President Barack Obama, Jimmy Kimmel and Julia Roberts.
Though he has been a staunch supporter of Biden throughout his first campaign and term, Clooney did butt heads with the president earlier this year over his criticism of the International Criminal Court’s decision to request arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defense minister Yoav Gallant—which Clooney’s wife, Amal Cloonery, reportedly worked on. Biden called the request “outrageous” and said the warrants did “nothing to help, and could jeopardize, ongoing efforts to reach a ceasefire.” The Washington Post reported George Clooney took issue with Biden’s use of the word “outrageous” and called a counselor to the president, to express concern.