Noted President Biden supporter and lifelong Democrat George Clooney added his voice to calls for him to leave the presidential race on Wednesday.
Clooney, writing in a New York Times opinion piece, said that he loves Biden but the party would lose the presidential race as well as any control in Congress with him as the nominee.
“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,” wrote Clooney.
Clooney has hosted several high-dollar Hollywood fundraisers, including one for Biden last month that raised $28 million for the campaign.
Clooney argued the party should pick a new nominee at its convention next month, saying the process would be “messy” but “wake up” voters in the party’s favor.
“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," Clooney wrote.
Biden has refused to end his reelection bid after his weak debate performance against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Clooney isn't the only celebrity Biden supporter to flip-flop on Wednesday either. Outspoken Democrat Rob Reiner echoed Clooney's thoughts.
"My friend George Clooney has clearly expressed what many of us have been saying," Reiner posted to social media. "We love and respect Joe Biden. We acknowledge all he has done for our country. But Democracy is facing an existential threat. We need someone younger to fight back. Joe Biden must step aside."
Minnesota Democrat, Rep. Angie Craig, made her position clear last Saturday when she became the first front-line Democrat to call for Biden to bow out.
More have joined the call for Biden to drop out of the race as well. House Democrats Adam Smith of Washington, Jerry Nadler of New York, Mark Takano of California and Joe Morelle of New York joined that list in the last couple of days.
Late Wednesday morning, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal (CT) added his voice to the debate saying he is "deeply concerned" about President Biden.
Former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was asked about Biden's candidacy on MSNBC Wednesday, and was lukewarm in her response.
"It's up to the president to decide if he is going to run," Pelosi answered. "We're all encouraging him to to make that decision. Because time is running short."
On WCCO Radio Tuesday, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar (DFL) said the Democrats who are not fully behind Biden are "misplaced".
"To second guess the president, to second guess our ability to defeat Trump, I think that is misplaced," Omar said. "I think that those conversations could have been had long ago."
The Associated Press contributed to this story.