A growing number of influential celebrities are calling for President Biden to step aside and not run for reelection amid growing concern over whether the president is fit to serve a second term and capable of defeating Donald Trump after his catastrophic debate performance.
Lifetime Democrat George Clooney was the latest celebrity to push for Biden to exit the race with a bombshell op-ed in the New York Times on Wednesday.
Just weeks ago, the celebrated actor headlined a fundraiser for the president’s reelection campaign where he was pictured standing alongside Biden.
He joins a drumbeat of revered names across the Democrat-heavy entertainment industry to call for a new party nominee to take on Trump this fall.
While political strategists are skeptical of how much impact celebrity endorsements have on political campaigns, Clooney’s op-ed calling for Biden’s exit carries weight in its account of his first hand experience with the president last month.
‘That is devastating, that’s devastating,’ said longtime Obama adviser David Axelrod.
Clooney also is not the only celebrity who has been in close proximity with Biden in recent months who has called for him to step aside.
Here are all the Democratic celebrities calling on Biden to drop out:
George Clooney
Actor George Clooney who headlined a June 15 fundraiser for Biden in Los Angeles wrote in the New York Times that he loves Biden but the party needs a new nominee.
‘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.
Clooney claimed despite what Democratic lawmakers are saying publicly, those he’s spoken to agree with him behind closed doors.
The actor concluded: ‘Joe Biden is a hero; he saved democracy in 2020. We need him to do it again in 2024.’
Rob Reiner
Filmmaker Ron Reiner also has called for Biden to step down.
The Oscar nominated director and producer wrote on X on Sunday ‘It’s time to stop f***ing around. If the Convicted Felon wins, we lose our Democracy. Joe Biden has effectively served US with honor, decency, and dignity. It’s time for Joe Biden to step down.’
The man behind When Harry Met Sally applauded Clooney for speaking out in a separate post on Wednesday.
He also wrote ‘We love and respect Joe Biden. We acknowledge all he has done for our country. But Democracy is facing an existential threat. We need someone younger to fight back. Joe Biden must step aside.’
John Cusack
John Cusack has been raising alarms for some time.
The actor, who has been critical of Biden’s handling of Gaza, expressed his agreement with Reiner call for Biden to step down on July 8.
Cusack reposted Reiner on X writing: ‘There has been no bigger supporter of Biden‘s domestic policy than Rob – he’s right.’
Mia Farrow
Actress and activist Mia Farrow posted a simple message on X ‘time to pass the torch.’
She warned if not, ‘we will lose the Senate, the House and our Democracy.’
Farrow followed up with a second post on X where she said she will vote for Biden if he does not step down, but argued ‘he is losing. We cannot EVER give our country to Trump.’
‘I hope he names another talented Democrat who will carry forward Joe Biden’s great accomplishments – and win,’ she said.
Stephen King
Author Stephen King called for Biden to exit the race on Monday.
‘Joe 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,’ King wrote on X.
Michael Moore
Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore used his podcast to plea’ that Biden get out of the race.
While Moore has been a critic of some Biden policies, the liberal 70-year-old praised Biden’s record during his first term but argued Biden should step aside to stop Trump.
Moore posted on X, by exiting the race he would be helping put the first woman in the Oval Office. He said Vice President Kamala Harris will complete the mission and Biden needs to ‘do the right thing.’
Stephen Colbert
Late night host Stephen Colbert suggested in an opening monologue this week that Biden should step down, just months after he moderated a conversation with Biden as well as former Presidents Obama and Clinton at a New York City fundraiser in late March.
‘Self-sacrifice takes a particular kind of courage, and that is a courage I believe Joe Biden is capable of,’ Colbert said on his show.
‘I believe he is a good enough man, a good enough president to put the needs of the country ahead of the needs of his ego,’ he continued.
‘And however painful that might be, it is possible handing leadership to a younger generation is the right thing for the greater goodest.’
Jon Stewart
Comedian Jon Stewart stopped short of calling for Biden’s exit, but he went off on the president and Democrats on Monday as they pushed back on calls for Biden to leave the race.
Steward slammed arguments that its too close to Election Day for Biden to step down, screaming that four months is ‘forever.’
He said he was not saying that Biden needed to drop out but questioned ‘can’t we stress test this candidacy? Can’t we open up the conversation?’
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