Actor and prominent Democratic fundraiser George Clooney is calling for President Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, even as Mr. Biden says he's "firmly committed" to running.
In a New York Times op-ed published Wednesday, Clooney urged the Democratic Party to choose a new nominee, pointing to Mr. Biden's disastrous debate performance last month.
"We are not going to win in November with this president," Clooney wrote. "On top of that, we won't win the House, and we're going to lose the Senate. This isn't only my opinion; this is the opinion of every senator and Congress member and governor who I've spoken with in private."
Clooney's op-ed came less than a month after he co-hosted a star-studded fundraiser for the Biden camapaign that included former President Barack Obama, talk show host Jimmy Kimmel and actress Julia Roberts. The Biden-Harris campaign said it raised $30 million, a record sum for a single Democratic fundraiser.
However, Clooney's support for the president now appears to be waning.
"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 wrote. "He wasn't even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate."
The two-time Oscar winner conceded Mr. Biden may have been tired or sick during the debate against former President Donald Trump, but he warned Democrats about their election chances if they move forward with Mr. Biden as the party's nominee.
Urging Democratic lawmakers not to "wait and see if the dam breaks," Clooney said "the dam has broken. We can put our heads in the sand and pray for a miracle in November, or we can speak the truth."
The silver lining of a fresh nominee is that it would enliven the Democratic party and "wake up voters," Clooney wrote, pointing to the recent legislative elections in France in which the far-right was blocked from a big win.
Clooney said the Democratic Party has an "exciting bench" and suggested picking someone at the Democratic National Convention in August. He pointed to potential candidates such as Vice President Kamala Harris, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker.
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