Actor George Clooney on Wednesday called on Democratic leaders to unite behind a new presidential candidate amid growing pressure within the party to withdraw President Joe Biden. from the race.
As prominent Democrats continue to step forward to question Biden’s ability to win re-election against the former president, Clooney, a major Democratic fundraiser, issued the challenge in a guest essay in The New York Times. Donald Trump After Biden’s debate performance last month.
“It’s devastating to say this, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fundraiser was not the Joe”big F-ing deal“Biden of 2010” Clooney wrotereferring to a star event which Biden attended in Los Angeles before the debate last month. “He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the guy we all saw in the debate.”
Reached for comment, a campaign spokesman pointed to Biden’s previous comments that he would stay in the race.
In the days after the debate, with Democratic hand-wringing, Biden resisted calls for a discharge and dismissed it. vote that he found He is trailing Trump, albeit within the polls’ margin of error.
Democratic donors, meanwhile, among the differences is how a candidate should determine the path forward. Addressing the debate, Clooney, who calls himself a friend of Biden, wrote that party leaders “must stop saying 51 million people don’t see what we’re seeing right now. We’re all very scared by the prospect of a second Trump. As long as we choose to ignore every warning sign.”
“We are not going to win in November with this president,” he added. “On top of that, we’re not going to win the House and we’re going to lose the Senate. That’s not just my opinion; that’s the opinion of every senator and member of Congress and governor that I’ve talked to. Every person, regardless of what they say publicly.
Outstanding despite some flaws democratetc In Congress They continued to support Biden – albeit hesitantly — after closed-door meetings after returning to the Capitol this week.
Clooney also exaggerated Biden’s views in his essay disputeea le nttter It shows members of Congress that a Democratic victory in the primaries has the support of voters.
“To pretend that Democrats have already spoken with their voices, and therefore that the nomination is settled and done when we receive new and upsetting information, is disingenuous at best,” he said.
“Top Democrats — Chuck Schumer, Judge Jeffries, Nancy Pelosi and the senators, representatives and other candidates facing defeat in November — should ask this president to voluntarily step aside,” he said.