George Clooney joins the list of personalities calling for Joe Biden to step down

George Clooney published an op-ed in the New York Times calling on the president to withdraw from the race. He claims to have observed the same Joe Biden that appeared during the debate: «The Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fundraiser 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 witnessed at the debate.»

Stephen King, the famed master of horror, said on X that for all his love of America, Biden should not run for president: «Joe Biden has been a fine president, but it’s time for him — in the interests of the America he so clearly loves — to announce he will not run for re-election.»

In an interview with CNBC, Abigail Disney, the Disney heiress and wealthy Democratic donor, says she won’t fund the party until Joe Biden steps down: «I intend to stop any contributions to the party unless and until they replace Biden at the top of the ticket. This is realism, not disrespect. Biden is a good man and has served his country admirably, but the stakes are far too high.»

Damon Lindelof, creator of the Lost series, has published a long text on Deadline, in which he expresses his affection and confidence in Joe Biden, even mentioning having supported his campaign with a generous donation just before the debate. However, he argues that the stakes associated with his opponent are too high and that all major donors should cease their contributions to the Democratic campaign, arguing that it’s time for their pitchman to get out of the game: «I propose a DEMbargo. No checks written. No ActBlue links clicked. For anyone.»

Sara Haines, co-host of The View, said, as painful as it was, that the president needed to be replaced: «It was really hard to watch and it pains me to say this today, but I think President Biden needs to step down and be replaced, If we want to defeat Donald Trump in November then I absolutely think that.»

Reed Hastings, co-founder and executive chairman of Netflix, and his wife, Patty Quillin, two major Democratic donors, call for a new leader to replace the president in the race: «Biden must step down to allow a strong Democratic leader to defeat Trump and guarantee our security and prosperity.»

Film director Michael Moore argues that the president must be removed from the race and that keeping him in the race represents nothing less than a form of elder abuse, the worst he’s ever observed in his opinion: «If I have to be the only one to stand for Joe Biden—that’s right, you heard me say that—if I have to be the only one to stand up for Joe Biden here, to protect him from the cruelest form of elder abuse I’ve ever been forced to watch, well then that’s what I’ll do.»

Rob Reiner, actor and director, says that if Joe Biden doesn’t withdraw from the race and Trump wins, then democracy will be lost: «If the Convicted Felon wins, we lose our Democracy. Joe Biden has effectively served US with honor, decency, and dignity. It’s time for Joe Biden to step down.»