George Clooney has made a nasty call for Joe Biden to drop out of the US presidential race.
The Hollywood actor and prominent Democratic fundraiser said the president has won many battles in his career, “but the one battle he can’t win is the fight against time.”
Her comments came hours after Ms Pelosi, a former House speaker, joined growing chaos in the party, saying time was “running out” for Mr Biden to decide whether to stay in the race against Donald Trump after a disastrous debate late last month.
Clooney told The New York Times that it was “devastating to say that,” but Mr. Biden, whom he met at a fundraiser three weeks ago, was not the “Joe ‘big ****ing deal'” Biden of 2010. He didn’t. Even the Joe Biden of 2020.
“He’s the same man we all saw in the debate,” he said. “Our party leaders must stop telling us that 51 million people did not see what we saw.
“It’s about age. Nothing more,” he continued. We are not going to win in November with this president.
The growing rift comes amid one of the most consequential weeks of Mr Biden’s re-election campaign, where he is hosting a crucial NATO summit in Washington.
Asked by MSNBC’s Morning Joe whether she would support President Biden’s re-election, Ms Pelosi said: “I want him to do whatever he decides to do.”
“It is up to the President to decide whether he will contest. As time is running out, we all encourage him to make that decision.
His response ignored his commitment to stay in the race, the same plan that Mr. Biden repeated on Monday.
The president has struggled to maintain morale within his party since the June 27 debate against Trump.
Since then, more than a dozen elected Democrats have suggested in private and public comments that he abandon his campaign.
On Tuesday, Michael Bennett of Colorado became the first Senate Democrat to publicly decline.
While he did not call for Mr Biden to drop out entirely, he said Trump would win the election, possibly by a “landslide”.
Others are more straightforward.
North Jersey Congressman Mikey Sherrill said in a statement: “I am asking him to announce that he will not seek re-election.”
Acknowledging the pressure, Ms Pelosi said on Wednesday: “I told everybody – let’s hold off. Whatever you think, tell somebody privately, but you don’t have to put it on the table until we see how. Go this week, but I’m very proud of the president.
