President Joe Biden continues to lose crucial support from his colleagues, big-name celebrities and donors.
Last month, Biden’s shaky performance at the first presidential debate against the Republican nominee, former president Donald Trump, led to questions about his capability to run for reelection.
Despite several major voices urging Biden to step aside, the incumbent president is insistent about his ability to run and win again.
Follow the latest updates on Biden as he vows to run despite gaffes
However, Biden’s confidence does not seem to have calmed the minds of some of his once-ardent supporters, who have called on the president to step aside.
In an op-ed for The New York Times, Oscar-winning actor George Clooney wrote that while “I love Joe Biden,” the Democrats “need a new nominee.”
“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,” Clooney, 63, wrote.
“But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. None of us can. 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,” he said.
The Oceans Eleven star called on “top Democrats,” including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, to “ask this president to voluntarily step aside.”
Thelma & Louise star Susan Sarandon has also spoken out against Biden’s viability, telling Variety that she thinks he should withdraw from the race.
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“Obviously there are a lot of people within the party who feel the same way,” the 77-year-old Sarandon said. “I think it’s obvious [why he should step down]. Way before the age thing came into play, hundreds of thousands of uncommitted voters in swing states, because of the war in Gaza, put his possible election in jeopardy.”
On Monday, July 8, bestselling horror author Stephen King, 76, tweeted that while “Joe Biden has been a fine president” it’s time for him “in the interests of the America he so clearly loves – to announce he will not run for re-election.”
When Harry Met Sally… director Rob Reiner, 77 shared a similar view. “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,” Reiner wrote on X.
Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof, a self-proclaimed “lifelong Democrat,” declared that “Biden has to go & the Dems need to wake up.”
In a guest column written for Deadline, Lindelof urged others to withhold their donations to the Democratic party until “there’s change at the top of the ticket.”
“When Joe finally leaves the mound, I will stand and applaud. Because he truly pitched a great game,” he said.
One of the Democrat’s biggest donors, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings has also called for Biden to drop out of the race. “Biden needs to step aside to allow a vigorous Democratic leader to beat Trump and keep us safe and prosperous,” he sent in an email to The New York Times.
Director Michael Moore (Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11) was a bit more extreme in his argument against Biden. During an appearance on MSNBC, Moore, 70, accused the Democratic party of committing “elder abuse” by pushing Biden to continue with his election campaign.
“The problem here is that I think there is a form of elder abuse going on here where the Democratic Party and the people that are part of the apparatus are pushing and pushing him to stay. And then he comes out and says ‘I am staying,’ and the family says ‘I am staying,’” he said.
“I don’t know about you, but in spite of my criticisms with Biden, watching the debate a week ago was heartbreaking. It was like, imagine that was your father up there,” Moore added. “I’m thinking, why isn’t anybody doing anything? Why did they let him go out on the stage in this condition? Who is looking out for him? Who is looking out for him right now?”
Last week, Disney heiress Abigail Disney, a longstanding Democratic donor, hailed the president as “a good man” who had served his country “admirably,” but warned that the GOP would win in November if a change of leadership was not made.
“I intend to stop any contributions to the party unless and until they replace Biden at the top of the ticket,” she said in a statement shared with CNBC.
The View hosts were among the first major commentators to insist on Biden’s exit from the race. The day after Biden’s debate, the talk show hosts discussed his poor performance, with Sara Haines declaring: “It kind of 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.”