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From Deadline: George Clooney, fresh off co-hosting a star-filled fundraiser for Joe Biden last month, is calling on Democrats to pick a new nominee and for the president to be a “hero” in stepping aside.
Clooney cited concerns over Biden’s age, and compared the president’s appearance at the fundraiser, in which he did a sit down with Barack Obama and Jimmy Kimmel, to what he was like just a few years ago.
Clooney is one of the most influential celebrity supporters of Democrats, and the Biden campaign used his appearance at the event to raise millions in small-dollar donations, holding a contest in which the winner could meet the actor and Julia Roberts.
In an op-ed published in the New York Times Wednesday morning, Clooney wrote:
I love Joe Biden. As a senator. As a vice president and as president. I consider him a friend, and I believe in him. Believe in his character. Believe in his morals. In the last four years, he’s won many of the battles he’s faced.
But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. None of us can. 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.
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. The George Stephanopoulos interview only reinforced what we saw the week before. 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.
“We are not going to win in November with this president. 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 that I’ve spoken with in private. Every single one, irrespective of what he or she is saying publicly,” Clooney also wrote.
Clooney called for “several strong Democrats” to step forward, including “Wes Moore and Kamala Harris and Gretchen Whitmer and Gavin Newsom and Andy Beshear and J.B. Pritzker and others.”
“Joe Biden is a hero; he saved democracy in 2020. We need him to do it again in 2024,” Clooney declared.
GEORGE CLOONEY: “.. 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 was the same man we all witnessed at the debate. .. the dam has broken.”@nytopinion https://t.co/knZUKmxIUy pic.twitter.com/Q1QZ0E3heT
— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) July 10, 2024
“Most of our members of Congress are opting to wait and see if the dam breaks. But 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.”
Very good piece by George Clooney. https://t.co/kcEfH2znyx
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) July 10, 2024
George Clooney Calls For New Democratic Nominee In Latest Hollywood Plea For Joe Biden To Step Aside https://t.co/dhMUzmd0Pg
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) July 10, 2024
