Vice President Kamala Harris has won the endorsement of George Clooney, whose New York Times op-ed calling on President Joe Biden to reconsider his re-election bid sent shockwaves through the Democratic Party.
The actor and leading Democrat on Tuesday praised Biden’s pivotal decision to step down, a move the 81-year-old president announced over the weekend after weeks of mounting pressure to abandon his quest for a second term in the White House.
“President Biden has shown what true leadership is,” Clooney said in a statement to CNN. “He is saving democracy once again. We are all very pleased to do everything we can to support Vice President Harris in her historic quest.”
Clooney’s endorsement comes as Harris has garnered enough support from Democratic delegates to become the party’s official nominee. She quickly secured 2,668 delegates, well above the 1,976 she needs to get on the ballot. The vice president also raised a whopping $81 million in the 24 hours after Biden withdrew and signaled his support for Harris, 59.
“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your president,” Biden wrote in a message on X. “And while I intend to seek re-election, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and country for me to step aside and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term.”
On July 10, The New York Times published a scathing article written by Clooney, titled “I Like Joe Biden. But We Need a New Candidate.”
“The only battle he can’t win is the fight against time,” Clooney writes.
“None of us can say this. It’s devastating to say this, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fundraiser was not the ‘big f***ing deal’ Joe Biden of 2010,” he continued. “He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same guy we all saw at the debate.”
On Tuesday, Clooney joined a growing group of celebrities supporting Harris. Others include Charli XCX, who said “Kamala is a kid,” and Jamie Lee Curtis, who said Harris “IS CONFIDENT AND TESTED, is a fierce advocate for the rights of women and people of color, and her message is one of HOPE and UNITY for America in this time of great national division.” Spike Lee, Demi Lovato and John Legend have also voiced their support.
