George Clooney, the Hollywood star and self-styled “lifelong Democrat”, has called on Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential election race.
In an op-ed for The New York Times, Clooney said: “I love Joe Biden. 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. In the last four years, he’s won many of the battles he’s faced.
“But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time.”
Mr Biden’s re-election effort has been under intense scrutiny since a disastrous performance in a debate with Trump last month.
The president, 81, has so far resisted calls to step down, including from some in his own party, saying he is “firmly committed” to staying in the race – and urging his fellow Democrats to put the debate to rest.
But Clooney wrote: “This is about age. Nothing more. But also nothing that can be reversed.
“We are not going to win in November with this president.”
He added that after the debate “the dam has broken.”
“We can put our heads in the sand and pray for a miracle in November, or we can speak the truth.”
He admitted changing the nominee with so little time to go to the November election would be “messy”, but argued it would also “enliven our party and wake up voters who, long before the June debate, had already checked out”.
The piece was headlined: “I Love Joe Biden. But We Need a New Nominee”, and concluded by saying Mr Biden was a “hero” for beating Mr Trump in the previous election.
“He saved democracy in 2020. We need him to do it again in 2024,” Clooney said.
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Earlier, Mr Biden’s re-election effort suffered a significant setback after one of his most prominent and long-time allies declined to endorse him.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stopped short of offering her support when asked if she backed his run for a second term in the White House.
Ms Pelosi was asked on the MSNBC show, Morning Joe, if he had her support to be the head of the Democratic ticket.
She replied: “It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run. We’re all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short.”
Asked if she wants him to run, Ms Pelosi said: “I want him to do whatever he decides to do, and that’s… that’s the way it is. Whatever he decides, we go with.”
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