George Clooney says President Joe Biden not the man he was in 2020 and should drop out

President Joe Biden has been urged by George Clooney to drop out of the presidential race. Photo / Getty Images

• Hollywood legend George Clooney says Joe Biden should not seek re-election, citing noticeable changes in his capabilities.
• Clooney says while it’s “devastating” to say, the Biden he was with at a recent fundraiser was not the Biden of 2010 or even 2020.
• He also highlighted a disappointing debate performance and a reinforcing ABC interview with George Stephanopoulos.

Actor George Clooney, a major Hollywood fundraiser for the Democrats, said on Wednesday that President Joe Biden is no longer the same person who won the White House in 2020 and said he should drop his bid for re-election.

Clooney co-hosted a star-studded fundraiser for Biden in downtown Los Angeles in June, about two weeks before the 81-year-old President struggled through a debate with Republican former President Donald Trump.

”It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fundraiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010,” Clooney wrote in the New York Times.

US President Joe Biden greets actor George Clooney during the Kennedy Center honoree reception in December, 2022. Photo / Getty Images

“He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.”

”Was he tired? Yes. A cold? Maybe. But our party leaders need to stop telling us that 51 million people didn’t see what we just saw.”

A subsequent interview with ABC journalist George Stephanopoulos “only reinforced what we saw the week before”, Clooney said.

The actor, who described himself as a lifelong Democrat, wrote: “We are not going to win in November with this president. On top of that, we won’t win the House, and we’re going to lose the Senate.”

”This isn’t only my opinion; this is the opinion of every senator and congress member and governor that I’ve spoken with in private,” Clooney wrote. “Every single one, irrespective of what he or she is saying publicly.”

Biden said he had a “bad night” at the debate and has vowed to stay in the presidential race.

From George Clooney: “It’s 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 wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.” https://t.co/t3AIwIGN24

— New York Times Opinion (@nytopinion) July 10, 2024

Clooney expressed admiration for Biden and said he considered him a friend.

”I believe in him. Believe in his character. Believe in his morals. In the last four years, he’s won many of the battles he’s faced,” Clooney said.

”But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time.”