George Clooney on Biden in NYT: "We are not going to win in November with this president"

Actor George Clooney broke his silence on President Biden's campaign for a second term in the White House on Wednesday, expressing his concerns about the future of American politics, a move which sparked a media firestorm.

The protagonist of films such as “The Great Swindle” and “The Fall of a Murderer” published an opinion piece in the New York Times where, after reaffirming that he commitment as a “lifelong Democrat,” he shared his views on Biden’s chances in the upcoming presidential election.

In his essay, titled, “I Love Joe Biden, but we need a new nominee,” the Hollywood actor, who has also worked as a Democratic financial powerhouse in multiple fundraising events for his party's campaign, wrote, “I love Joe Biden. As a senator, as vice president and as president. I consider him a friend and I believe in him. I believe in his morals. In the last four years, he has won many of the battles he has faced.”

But he then added, “This is about age. Nothing more. But also nothing that can be reversed. 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 who I’ve spoken with in private. Every single one, irrespective of what he or she is saying publicly.”

Clooney, who last month organized a $28 million fundraising event for Biden in Los Angeles, California, which, according to his campaign, was the largest ever held for a Democratic candidate, is one of the highest ranking celebrity figures asking the president to step down as the party’s nominee.

“But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. None of us can,” the celebrity argued in his essay.

He also referred to the image that the U.S. president showed to public opinion, much talked about after the televised meeting with the same Republican candidate Donald Trump a few weeks ago:

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.

Clooney's article was published in the Times a few hours after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, suggested during a television interview.

“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,” Pelosi said Wednesday on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “ … He is beloved, he is respected, and people want him to make that decision.”