After Clooney’s call to action, Hollywood heavy hitters eye the exits with Biden
by Judy Kurtz - 07/12/24 5:30 AM ET
Hollywood appears to be heading for the hills over President Biden’s reelection bid, and political experts say the loss of celebrity support could put a blockbuster-sized dent in his campaign.
George Clooney sent shockwaves from Washington to the West Coast on Wednesday, when he released a New York Times essay announcing he was doing an about-face on Biden. The “Descendants” actor, who last month helped the Biden campaign haul in $30 million at a star-studded Los Angeles fundraiser, wrote that Democrats are “not going to win in November with this president.”
The Academy Award winner, one of Hollywood’s biggest Democratic supporters, said that the Biden he encountered at the glitzy event just weeks ago 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.”
Biden’s disastrous debate against Trump last month in Atlanta triggered a tidal wave of criticism and renewed concerned about the 81-year-old president’s age and acuity. As of Thursday evening, 16 House Democrats and one Democratic senator had called on Biden to exit the White House race.
“It’s like the Titanic hit the iceberg,” Brad Bannon, a Democratic pollster and strategist said of the effect of Clooney’s move on Biden’s campaign.
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https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/4766706-george-clooneys-hollywood-donors-biden-campaign-rob-reiner-michael-douglas/
