Actor George Clooney called on President Biden to leave the 2024 race in a New York Times guest essay on Wednesday, just weeks after raising millions for the Democratic candidate.
"It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate," Clooney wrote.
"Was he tired? Yes. A cold? Maybe. But our party leaders need to stop telling us that 51 million people didn’t see what we just saw. We’re all so terrified by the prospect of a second Trump term that we’ve opted to ignore every warning sign," he continued.
The actor joined a growing list of Hollywood elites and megadonors who've turned on Biden following the debate, where his halting, frail and at-times confused performance alarmed supporters. Members of Biden's party, political allies and liberal media figures have also pressured the president to drop out of the race, warning he cannot beat former President Trump.
"This is about age. Nothing more. But also nothing that can be reversed. We are not going to win in November with this president," Clooney wrote.
Democrats have more to lose than the White House; they are at risk of losing down-ballot races with Biden as the nominee, he argued. "This isn’t only my opinion; this is the opinion of every senator and congress member and governor that I’ve spoken with in private. Every single one, irrespective of what he or she is saying publicly."
Clooney warned that it was past time to put forward a new candidate and chided Democrats for putting their "heads in the sand" on the party's dilemma.
"[T]he dam has broken. We can put our heads in the sand and pray for a miracle in November, or we can speak the truth," he wrote.
Clooney called on top Democrats like Sen. Chuck Schumer and Reps. Hakeem Jeffries and Nancy Pelosi, as well as candidates who are at risk of losing their own elections, to pressure Biden to "voluntarily step aside."
With Biden off the ticket, other Democratic leaders could come forward and make their case to the American people, he argued.
"Let’s hear from [Maryland Gov.] Wes Moore and [Vice President] Kamala Harris and [Michigan Gov.] Gretchen Whitmer and [California Gov.] Gavin Newsom and [Kentucky Gov.] Andy Beshear and [Illinois Gov.] J.B. Pritzker and others," Clooney wrote.
"Would it be messy? Yes. Democracy is messy. But would it enliven our party and wake up voters who, long before the June debate, had already checked out? It sure would," the actor continued.
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Despite mounting pressure to step aside, President Biden has insisted to supporters and media outlets this week that he will stay in the race and remains the best candidate to beat his GOP rival.
The Biden campaign pointed Fox News Digital to Biden's repeated statements about staying in the race.
In May, Clooney called the White House to complain about President Biden's rebuke of the International Criminal Court when it issued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders. Clooney's wife, attorney Amal Clooney, worked on the case.
