Top Democratic fundraiser George Clooney has issued a damning call for Joe Biden to quit the presidential race, hours after senior Democrat Nancy Pelosi swerved questions about whether he should continue.
George Clooney said that the president had won many battles in his career, “but the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time”.
His comments came after Nancy Pelosi, the former House Speaker, joined growing disquiet in the party, saying that time was “running short” for Joe Biden to decide whether to stay in the race against Donald Trump after his disastrous debate.
President Biden has stated, repeatedly, that he is determined to remain as the Democratic party’s candidate and beat Donald Trump in November.
George Clooney wrote in The New York Times that it was “devastating to say it” but the Mr Biden he met at a fundraising event three weeks ago was not the “‘Joe ‘big ****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,” the actor said.
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The fundraising event, held in Los Angeles, brought in a single-night record of roughly $30 million for the Biden campaign.
“Our party leaders need to stop telling us that 51 million people didn’t see what we just saw.”
“This is about age. Nothing more,” he continued. “We are not going to win in November with this president.”
George Clooney added that his concerns matched those of “every” member of Congress he had spoken to.
Asked to respond, Joe Biden’s campaign referred to a letter the president sent Democrats in Congress that said he was “firmly committed” to his candidacy and beating Donald Trump.
Yet public dissent continues to grow within Joe Biden’s party as he faces scrutiny while hosting the NATO summit in Washington.
Nancy Pelosi, still one of the most powerful Democrats on Capitol Hill, on July 10 appeared to disregard Joe Biden’s insistence that he was determined to continue.
When asked if he should stay in the election race, she told MSNBC’s Morning Joe: “I want him to do whatever he decides to do.”
“It’s up to the president to decide if he’s going to run. We are all encouraging him to make that decision, because time is running short.”
A Biden campaign spokesperson referred to Nancy Pelosi’s comments on July 9, in which she said that she had “always been committed” to the president.
Around a dozen elected Democrats have suggested he abandon his campaign since his June 27 debate with Donald Trump.
On July 9, Michael Bennet of Colorado became the first Democratic senator to publicly dissent.
Although he did not call for Joe Biden to quit outright, he said Donald Trump would win the election, possibly by a “landslide”.
Pat Ryan, a congressman from New York, later wrote on X: “For the good of our country, for my two young kids, I’m asking Joe Biden to step aside.”
Overall support from elected Democrats remains robust, however.
Gavin Newsom, the California governor who was named by George Clooney as a potential replacement, said he was still “all in” with Joe Biden.
The Congressional Black Caucus, a group of roughly 60 politicians, and newer House members like Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, have publicly backed him.
