Film actor and lifelong Democrat George Clooney called on Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race on Wednesday. An epic single night trip For the President’s re-election campaign.
Clooney said a New York Times Opinion Section He loves Biden, but the party will lose the presidential election, as well as any control of Congress that will stop him from running.
“This is not just my opinion; That’s the opinion of every senator and congressman and governor I’ve spoken to personally,” wrote Clooney, who has hosted several high-dollar Hollywood fundraisers, including last month for Biden.
Clooney argued that the party should choose a new candidate at next month’s convention, saying the process would be “messy” but to “wake up” pro-party voters, referring to vice-president Kamala Harris and Govt. Maryland’s Wes Moore, Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer and California’s Gavin Newsom are among those the country should be listening to right now.
AP Washington reporter Sagar Meghani reports that one of President Biden’s most high-profile Hollywood backers is joining calls to drop his re-election bid.
Clooney, who centered much of his segment around Biden’s age, noted the differences he saw in the 81-year-old president during their recent Los Angeles event compared to years past.
“It’s devastating to say, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at a fundraiser is not the Joe ‘big f—ing deal’ Biden of 2010,” Clooney wrote. “He’s not even the Joe Biden of 2020. He’s the same man we all saw in the debate.”
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Last month, Clooney Julia Roberts And Barbra Streisand Among those who staged a fundraiser that brought in more than $30 million for Biden, they hope to be supporters of the White House race, which they say could be the most consequential in American history.
Clooney was not alone in his characterization of his recent exchange with Biden.
A person close to Biden described the president as vibrant and engaged at a fundraiser in March, but at the Los Angeles event months later, he said he saw a marked decline in Biden’s presence.
The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations with the president, recalled being struck by how tired and “out of it” the president was during backstage conversations at the Los Angeles event. Having traveled from Italy to attend an international summit in Los Angeles, it is doubtful that he will show less energy off stage.
Celebrities from the world of entertainment Many are lining up to help Biden’s campaign. Leading up to the fundraiser, Clooney’s name appeared in numerous fundraising missives from the campaign, which he called “the fight of our lives.”
Clooney’s representatives did not immediately return a message seeking comment on insight into his decision, precisely when he made it or how recently he spoke with Biden.
Biden refused to end his re-election bid after his weak debate against Republican nominee Donald Trump on June 27.
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Kinnard reported from Chapin, South Carolina. Approach her http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP
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Amir Madani contributed to this story from Washington.