George Clooney has endorsed Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee after turning against Joe Biden and telling him to withdraw.
The Democratic fundraiser thanked the 81-year-old president for “saving democracy” and said he was excited for Harris and her “historic mission.”
The 63-year-old Hollywood legend’s endorsement comes two weeks after he said in a scathing New York Times article that it was time to say goodbye to Biden.
“President Biden has shown what true leadership looks like, saving democracy once again,” he said in a statement to CNN, two days after Biden made the extraordinary decision to drop out of the race.
“We are all incredibly pleased that we can do everything we can to support Vice President Harris in her historic mission.”
Less than a month earlier, he had raised $30 million at a Biden fundraiser.
George Clooney has endorsed Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee after turning against Joe Biden and telling him to withdraw
The megastar, who has hosted multiple fundraisers for Biden, wrote on July 10 that the president could not win the “race against time.”
The brash op-ed was seen as one of the turning points in Biden’s bid to retain the nomination in an effort to secure a second term.
The actor slammed Democratic Party leaders for ignoring “every warning sign” of Biden’s declining physical and mental health and for trying to defend his actions in the car crash to Donald Trump.
He added that Democratic voters “collectively hold their breath or turn down the volume when we see the president we respect step off Air Force One or walk back to the microphone to answer an impromptu question.”
The op-eds came just three weeks after Clooney hosted a record-breaking $28 million fundraiser for the president on June 16.
Clooney, who hosted a massive fundraiser for Biden in Los Angeles on June 16, said the person he saw there was the candidate the world saw during last week’s presidential debate.
“I love Joe Biden. As a senator. As vice president and as president. I consider him a friend and I believe in him. Believe in his character. Believe in his morals. Over the last four years, he has won many of the battles he has fought,” Clooney wrote.
Clooney turned on President Biden, demanding he withdraw from the 2024 race after his disastrous debate and widespread concerns about whether he can serve another four years: Pictured above are George Clooney, President Joe Biden, Julia Roberts and Barack Obama at a June 16 fundraiser that raised $28 million
“But the one battle he cannot win is the battle against time. None of us can do that. It’s horrible to say, but the Joe Biden I was with at the fundraiser 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 guy we all saw at the debate,” he said.
Clooney said he heard these concerns from members of Congress he spoke to, including concerns that the Democratic Party will lose the House of Representatives and the Senate.
“We are not going to win in November with this president. And we are not going to win the House and we are going to lose the Senate. This is not just my opinion; this is the opinion of every senator, congressman and governor I have spoken to in private. Every single one of them, regardless of what they say in public,” he wrote.
Biden and Clooney have a long relationship, dating back to Biden’s time as chairman of the Senate Foreign Services Committee. Clooney worked on issues in Darfur and was in contact with him.
The president honored Clooney for his support, hosting him at the White House in December 2022 for the Kennedy Center Honors.
The actor has become a major force in the Democratic Party, raising millions for its candidates and is seen as an influential voice in American politics.
His rejection of Biden could also hurt the Democratic Party financially.
Hollywood donors, with their deep pockets, were said to be furious with campaign manager Jeffrey Katzenberg after Biden’s performance at the debate.
The donors, like many Biden supporters, said they felt misled and betrayed over the president’s health.
Clooney argued that it was more important to defeat Donald Trump in November than to keep Biden on the ballot.
“Our party leaders need to stop telling us that 51 million people didn’t see what we just saw. We are all so scared of the prospect of a second Trump term that we have chosen to ignore every warning sign,” he wrote.
But Biden and Clooney also experienced some problems in their relationship.
On Thursday, it emerged that the actor was furious in the White House in early June after Biden criticized an attempt by Clooney’s lawyer wife, Amal, to jail the Israeli prime minister.
Amal Clooney last month signed a request from the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu along with Hamas leaders for war crimes, a move the president condemned as “outrageous.”
Clooney reportedly called one of Biden’s closest advisers to make his feelings known.
But he hosted another fundraiser later that month, along with actress Julia Roberts and former President Barack Obama, raising $30 million for Biden’s campaign last month.
However, the fundraiser was overshadowed by questions about the president’s health after video emerged showing Obama having to escort Biden off the stage.
In the video, Biden and Obama are seen waving and smiling as they receive a standing ovation at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles.
Biden claps and gives the audience a thumbs up, but then stops moving and stares at the audience for several seconds.
That’s when Obama, still smiling and waving, grabbed Biden by the wrist and gently tugged. That’s when the president appears to come out.
They walk off the stage together, with Obama talking into Biden’s ear and patting him on the shoulder.
The White House called the video fake. Officials also noted that the fundraiser took place the day after Biden returned from attending the G7 summit in Italy.