George Clooney Commends Joe Biden's Decision To Exit Presidential Race

At the 2024 Venice Film Festival on Sunday, September 1, George Clooney praised President Joe Biden for his decision to exit the 2024 presidential race.

Clooney's comments came after he wrote an essay for The New York Times titled “I Love Joe Biden, But We Need a New Nominee,” in which he previously urged Biden to step down.

While he was promoting his new film, "Wolfs," alongside Brad Pitt, George Clooney was asked about the influence of his essay on Joe Biden’s decision to step aside from the Presidential race, allowing Kamala Harris to take his place as the Democratic candidate.

During the 2024 Venice Film Festival, the 63-year-old actor addressed Joe Biden's withdrawal from the Presidential race, calling it "the most selfless act since George Washington."

“The person who should be applauded is the President who did the most selfless thing that anybody has done since George Washington,” Clooney told the room, per People Magazine.

In his New York Times essay, Clooney withdrew his support for Biden's 2024 presidential campaign, urging the White House to evaluate the implications of keeping him on the ballot.

“All of the machinations that got us there, none of that’s going to be remembered, and it shouldn’t be,” he added while at the Film Festival. “What should be remembered is the selfless act of someone who did the hardest thing to do."

"You know we’ve seen it all around the world, and for someone to say, 'I think there’s a better way forward,' he gets all the credit, and that’s really the truth," the "Oceans Eleven" actor told the room.

Clooney referred to himself as a "lifelong Democrat" in his essay and reminded readers of his role in co-hosting the Biden campaign's high-profile Hollywood fundraiser, which he highlighted as the "single largest fund-raiser supporting any Democratic candidate ever."

"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-cking deal”'Biden of 2010," Clooney said. "He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate."

The 63-year-old wrapped up the essay by expressing his appreciation for the president and making a heartfelt appeal: "Joe Biden is a hero; he saved democracy in 2020. We need him to do it again in 2024."

George Clooney was not the only one to praise Joe Biden after he decided to withdraw from the Presidential race, calling it a reflection of "the very best of who Joe Biden is."

"As he was going through the excruciating loss of his beloved son Beau, it was in Rehoboth, in Wilmington, in prayer and surrounded by all who have loved and supported him for decades in Delaware that he found strength," Senator Chris Coons said, per CBS. "As he was finding his way through the tragic loss of his wife and daughter back in 1972 that began his career in the Senate, it was in Delaware."

"And it was in his faith that he found the grounding and the strength to be able to get back up and continue, and in every chapter in his life, in politics, in service, in his family and at home, he's been grounded," he continued. "Joe Biden, more than anyone I've ever known, speaks to what is best in the American spirit."

In July, after much speculation, Joe Biden confirmed that he would be withdrawing from the presidential race and would not pursue re-election.

“While it has been my intention to seek re-election, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden wrote in a letter shared on social media.

Following the announcement, Joe Biden endorsed his Vice President, Kamala Harris.

“Now, in just a few months, the American people choose the course of America’s future,” the president said from the Oval Office in his first public address since dropping out of the race last month. “I made my choice. I made my views known. I would like to thank our great vice-president, Kamala Harris. She experienced. She’s tough, she’s capable. She’s been an incredible partner to me and a leader for our country."

"Now the choice is up to you, the American people," the President of the United States added.

“My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” he wrote in a follow-up post on X. “My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made.”

”Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year,” he continued. "Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this."