A growing number of influential celebrities are calling on President Biden to resign and not run for re-election, amid growing concerns about the president’s fitness for a second term and his ability to defeat Donald Trump after his disastrous debate performance.
Democrat George Clooney became the latest celebrity to urge Biden to drop out of the race with a bombshell op-ed in the New York Times on Wednesday.
Just a few weeks ago, the famed actor headlined a fundraiser for the president’s re-election campaign, standing next to Biden.
He joins a group of respected entertainment industry figures, including many Democrats, calling for a new party candidate to take on Trump this fall.
George Clooney wrote in a New York Times op-ed that Democrats need a new nominee, just weeks after he touted a fundraiser for Biden
While political strategists are skeptical about the impact celebrity endorsements have on political campaigns, Clooney’s op-ed calling for Biden’s removal carries considerable value given his personal experience with the president last month.
“That’s devastating, that’s devastating,” said David Axelrod, Obama’s longtime adviser.
Clooney, by the way, is not the only celebrity who has been in close contact with Biden in recent months and has called on him to step aside.
Here are all the Democratic celebrities calling on Biden to withdraw:
George Clooney
Actor George Clooney, who headlined a Biden fundraiser in Los Angeles on June 15, wrote in the New York Times that he thinks Biden is great but that the party needs a new candidate.
“It’s heartbreaking to say, but the Joe Biden I was at the fundraiser with three weeks ago 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 saw at the debate,’ Clooney wrote.
Clooney claimed that despite what Democratic lawmakers said publicly, the people he spoke to agreed 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.”
President Biden with George Clooney, Julia Roberts and former President Obama at a fundraiser last month
Rob Reiner
Filmmaker Ron Reiner has also called for Biden’s resignation.
The Oscar-nominated director and producer wrote on X on Sunday: “It’s time to stop messing around. If the convicted felon wins, we lose our democracy. Joe Biden has effectively served the United States with honor, decency, and dignity. It’s time for Joe Biden to resign.”
The man behind When Harry Met Sally praised Clooney for his comments in a separate post on Wednesday.
He also wrote: ‘We love and respect Joe Biden. We recognize 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.’
Director Rob Reiner called on Biden to step aside, saying democracy is under an “existential threat” and they need someone younger than Biden to fight
John Cusack
John Cusack has been warning for some time now.
The actor, who has been critical of Biden’s handling of Gaza, said he agreed with Reiner’s call for Biden to step down on July 8.
Cusack reposted Reiner on X, writing, “There is no bigger supporter of Biden’s domestic policies 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 that otherwise “we will lose the Senate, the House of Representatives, and our democracy.”
Farrow followed up with a second post on X in which she said she would vote for Biden if he did not resign, but argued that “he is losing. We can NEVER give our country to Trump.”
“I hope he appoints another talented Democrat who will continue Joe Biden’s great achievements and win,” she said.
Actress Mia Farrow said it was time to ‘pass the torch’ to X or risk losing democracy
Stephen King
Author Stephen King called on Biden on Monday to withdraw from the race.
“Joe Biden has been a good president, but it is time for him — for the sake of the America he so clearly loves — to announce that he will not seek re-election,” King wrote on X.
Michael Moore
Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore used his podcast to call on Biden to withdraw from the race.
Moore has been critical of some of Biden’s policies, but the 70-year-old left-wing politician praised Biden’s performance in his first term. However, he argued that Biden should step aside to stop Trump.
Moore posted on X that by dropping out of the race he would help the first woman in the Oval Office. He said Vice President Kamala Harris will complete the mission and that Biden “needs to do the right thing.”
Documentary maker Michael Moore made a ‘request’ in his podcast for Biden to drop out of the presidential race in an attempt to defeat Trump
Stephen Colbert
Host Stephen Colbert suggested in an opening monologue this week that Biden should resign, just months after he moderated a conversation with Biden and former Presidents Obama and Clinton at a fundraising event in New York in late March.
“Self-sacrifice takes a certain kind of courage, and I believe Joe Biden can demonstrate that courage,” Colbert said on his show.
“I believe he is a good enough man, a good enough president, to put the interests of the country above the interests of his ego,” he continued.
“And as painful as that is, it is possible that handing leadership to a younger generation is the right thing for the greater good.”
Stephen Colbert (far left) with Presidents Biden, Obama and Clinton at a campaign fundraiser on March 28 in New York City
Jon Stewart
Comedian Jon Stewart did not call for Biden’s resignation, but he railed against the president and Democrats on Monday when they dismissed calls for Biden to withdraw.
Steward criticized the argument that Election Day is too close for Biden to step down, shouting that four months is “forever.”
He said he wasn’t saying Biden should withdraw, but asked: “Can’t we stress-test this candidacy? Can’t we open up the conversation?”