A prominent Hollywood fundraiser for US President Joe Biden called for a new Democratic presidential candidate on Wednesday, arguing that the party cannot win the White House in November with him as the nominee.
In an opinion piece titled “I Love Joe Biden. But We Need a New Nominee” published in The New York Times, George Clooney, an actor, director and film producer, said: "We are not going to win in November with this president. On top of that, we will not win the House, and we are going to lose the Senate. This is not only my opinion, this is the opinion of every senator and Congress member and governor who I have spoken with in private. Every single one, irrespective of what he or she is saying publicly.”
"The one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. None of us can. It is 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 not even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate," Clooney wrote.
"Was he tired? Yes. A cold? Maybe. But our party leaders need to stop telling us that 51 million people did not see what we just saw. We are all so terrified by the prospect of a second Trump term that we have opted to ignore every warning sign," he said.
"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 has won many of the battles he has faced," he added.
“We love to talk about how the Republican Party has ceded all power, and all of the traits that made it so formidable with Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, to a single person who seeks to hold on to the presidency, and yet 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,” Clooney further said.
"All of the scary stories that we are being told about what would happen next are simply not true. In all likelihood, the money in the Biden-Harris coffers could go to help elect the presidential ticket and other Democrats. The new nominee would not be left off ballots in Ohio," he said.
“Would it be messy? Yes. Democracy is messy. But would it enliven our party and wake up voters who, long before the June debate, had already checked out? It sure would.”
“Joe Biden is a hero; he saved democracy in 2020. We need him to do it again in 2024,” he concluded.
Biden is facing growing pressure to withdraw from the presidential race after a disappointing debate performance. Democratic donors have expressed concerns about the president's health and fitness for office, and many are urging him to reconsider his bid for a second term.
