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Posted: 2024-07-10T16:07:33Z | Updated: 2024-07-10T19:20:02Z

Actor George Clooney, a stalwart Democratic fundraiser who most recently helped raise a whopping $30 million for President Joe Biden , is now calling on him to end his campaign for reelection due to his advancing age.

Clooney went out of his way to stress his feelings about the president in his opinion piece for The New York Times, which was titled, I Love Joe Biden. But We Need A New Nominee.

I love Joe Biden, Clooney wrote. 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.

But Biden, like everyone, cannot roll back the clock, Clooney said.

Its 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 wasnt even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate, Clooney wrote.

Bidens poor performance at last months debate with former President Donald Trump still has Democrats scrambling two weeks afterward as party leadership considers whether to support an alternative candidate.

Was he tired? Yes. A cold? Maybe. But our party leaders need to stop telling us that 51 million people didnt see what we just saw, Clooney went on. Bidens team had said that a cold had made the presidents voice shallow and raspy at the debate.

Democrats, the actor said, are in a white-knuckle position every time the president who we respect is positioned in front of a camera or microphone, afraid of another bad slip-up.

We are not going to win in November with this president. On top of that, we wont win the House, and were going to lose the Senate, Clooney said. This isnt only my opinion; this is the opinion of every senator and congress member and governor that Ive spoken with in private. Every single one, irrespective of what he or she is saying publicly.

Clooney argued that it was disingenuous to say the matter of Bidens nomination is settled when we just received new and upsetting information, and that a new candidate would in all likelihood be able to make use of the Biden campaigns millions in funds. Clooney encouraged Democrats like Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and California Gov. Gavin Newsom to throw their hats into the ring and partake in debates where they agree not to attack one another.

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, the actor said.

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The director Rob Reiner, known for The Princess Bride and A Few Good Men, responded to the piece by saying his friend has clearly expressed what many of us have been saying.

My friend George Clooney has clearly expressed what many of us have been saying. We love and respect Joe Biden. We acknowledge 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.

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My friend George Clooney has clearly expressed what many of us have been saying. We love and respect Joe Biden. We acknowledge 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.

Rob Reiner (@robreiner) July 10, 2024

Read the full piece at The New York Times .