Hollywood star George Clooney, who penned a harsh op-ed earlier this month urging President Joe Biden to exit the presidential race, endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the presumptive Democratic nominee in a Tuesday statement.
Less than two weeks after the actor and director expressed discontent with Biden’s viability, Clooney praised the incumbent for his decision to pass the torch to his running mate.
“President Biden has shown what true leadership is. He’s saving democracy once again,” Clooney said in a statement first reported by CNN. “We’re all so excited to do whatever we can to support Vice President Harris in her historic quest.”
Clooney, a longtime Democratic supporter, told Biden to step aside in a New York Times guest essay published July 10. The actor voiced concern that the Democratic Party would lose Congress in November if the president remained atop the ticket.
“We are not going to win in November with this president,” Clooney wrote. “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. Every single one, irrespective of what he or she is saying publicly.”
Before the op-ed, Clooney headlined a record-breaking $30 million fundraiser for Biden’s candidacy in Los Angeles last month. It was there that Clooney saw the president being led off stage by former president Barack Obama after Biden appeared to freeze on camera. Biden’s mental decline was also on full display at his presidential debate with former president Donald Trump in June.
“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,” Clooney said. “He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.”
The latest endorsement comes two days after Biden announced he would step down from his reelection campaign and select Harris as his replacement. Since then, numerous Democratic politicians and Hollywood figures have rallied around the vice president.
At least 260 elected Democrats have publicly supported Harris as of Tuesday, and the newly appointed presidential candidate has surpassed the minimum number of delegates to become the party’s nominee next month. She also raked in more than $100 million between Sunday afternoon and Monday evening since her presidential campaign kicked off over the weekend.
Some celebrities who have declared their support for Harris following Biden’s exit include Spike Lee, John Legend, Jamie Lee Curtis, Shonda Rhimes, and Barbra Streisand.
Aaron Sorkin, writer-creator of The West Wing, called on Democrats to nominate Senator Mitt Romney (R., Utah) as Biden’s replacement at the August convention. His plea was published by the New York Times on Sunday hours before Biden’s withdrawal.
Sorkin later retracted his suggestion, saying “I take it all back. Harris for America!”
Lost showrunner Damon Lindelof, while he has yet to back Harris or any particular candidate, celebrated Biden’s announcement and declared that “the DEMBARGO is lifted.”
Lindelof became one of the first significant Hollywood voices to propose that donors withhold their money from Democrats until Biden ended his reelection bid. The prominent screenwriter said he was concerned about Biden’s elderly age and mental fitness following his debate flop.