Oscar-winning actor and long-time Democrat George Clooney has defended his controversial New York Times op-ed calling on Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, saying it was his “civic duty” to speak up. Speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper in a new interview, Clooney said, “Well, I don’t know if it was brave… It was a civic duty.”
Clooney wrote the July 2024 opinion piece weeks after co-hosting a star-studded fundraiser that brought in $30 million for Biden’s campaign. The event was later overshadowed by Biden’s awkward appearance and a moment where former President Barack Obama had to escort him off stage. Clooney claimed that the Joe Biden he met at the fundraiser was not the same man he knew from 2010 or even 2020. “The one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. None of us can,” he wrote.
In his op-ed, Clooney expressed concern about the president’s declining fitness and the Democratic Party’s denial of the issue. “We are not going to win in November with this president,” he bluntly declared, warning that Biden’s re-election bid would ensure a Trump victory. He urged party leaders to “stop telling us that 51 million people didn’t see what we just saw” during Biden’s debate with Trump on June 27, 2024.
Although Biden’s campaign reportedly tried to dissuade Clooney from publishing the piece, it went live, and the president officially ended his campaign on July 21, 2024. Clooney later endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who inherited a fractured campaign. Reflecting on the transition, Clooney said, “It’s hard to run against yourself and say, ‘Well, I disagree with all this.’”
Clooney also expressed disappointment that there was no Democratic primary after Biden’s withdrawal. He argued that while Harris could have won such a contest, the party would have benefited from open competition. “I think we have some really good governors,” he said, naming Andy Beshear, Gretchen Whitmer, and notably Maryland Governor Wes Moore. “He’s a proper leader. … I like him a lot. I think he could be someone we could all join in behind.”
In the interview, Clooney also reflected on freedom of speech and accountability. “You can’t demand freedom of speech and then say, but don’t say bad things about me… You have to take a stand if you believe in it, take a stance, stand for it, and then deal with the consequences. That’s the rules,” he said.
Clooney, who is currently starring in a Broadway adaptation of Good Night, and Good Luck, drew parallels between his theatre work and modern American politics, particularly the importance of dissent and a free press. “It doesn’t matter what political bend you are on… those are extraordinarily powerful words for who we are at our best,” he said, referencing the legacy of journalist Edward R. Murrow.
