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Clooney reflects on Biden's exit and Harris's defeat
Actor and Democratic donor George Clooney said in a CBS interview that replacing Joe Biden with Kamala Harris as the party's 2024 presidential nominee was a "mistake," though he stood by his July New York Times op-ed urging Biden to withdraw from the race.
Clooney, who hosted a high-profile fundraiser for Biden in June, wrote at the time that the president's age had become an insurmountable hurdle, declaring in his piece, "I Love Joe Biden. But We Need a New Nominee," that Biden's "one battle he cannot win is the fight against time." Weeks later, Biden stepped aside, clearing the way for Harris to face Donald Trump.
'She had to run against her own record'
In the CBS interview, Clooney argued that Harris faced an impossible task: distancing herself from the Biden administration's policies while simultaneously claiming its legacy. "It's very hard to do if the point of running is to say, 'I'm not that person,'" he said. "She was given a very tough task."
The actor reiterated his belief that Biden's faltering performance in the June debate against Trump-widely seen as a turning point in the race-had made the president's withdrawal inevitable. "He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate," Clooney said, referencing concerns about Biden's stamina and sharpness.
Hunter Biden's profanity-laced rebuttal
Clooney's criticism of Biden's cognitive state drew a furious response from the president's son, Hunter Biden, who unleashed a string of expletives in a July interview with YouTube's Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan. When asked why Clooney had inserted himself into the race, Hunter Biden snapped, "What do you have to do with... anything? Why do I have to... listen to you?"
Despite the backlash, Clooney told CBS he would "write it again" and maintained that his intent had been to trigger a competitive primary-not an anointing of Harris. "I wanted there to be... a primary. Let's battle-test this quickly and get it up and going," he said. "We had a chance."
Harris hints at 2028 ambitions
In her first UK interview last month, Harris told the BBC she might seek the presidency again, calling it "possible" and expressing confidence that a woman would eventually occupy the White House. Her 2024 defeat marked the first time since 1992 that an incumbent president's party failed to retain the office for a second term.
"It's devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I met [in June] was not the Joe Biden of 2010. He wasn't even the Joe Biden of 2020."
George Clooney, New York Times op-ed, July 2024
