Lawmakers, Hollywood, newspapers urge Biden to quit

US President Joe Biden speaks as he hosts a bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (out of frame) in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on July 10, 2024. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)

WASHINGTON, United States — Democratic lawmakers, Hollywood fundraisers, and prestigious newspapers are among the growing voices calling on Joe Biden, 81, to let someone else take on Donald Trump in the US election.

Here is a roundup of some people calling for a new Democratic Party candidate.

About a dozen lawmakers

Hailing from Texas, Oregon, New Jersey and elsewhere, and moderates as well as progressives: about dozen elected members of the House of Representatives so far have called on Biden to drop out.

They are worried about the Democratic leader’s ability to defeat Trump after Biden’s catastrophic performance in their election debate on June 27.

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Michigan’s Hillary Scholten on Thursday called on the president to pass the torch for the good of democracy.

One of the most prominent voices in the Democratic Party, Nancy Pelosi, has refused to explicitly back Biden.

The first Senator

Doubts about Biden’s health are also beginning to be heard in the upper house of the US Congress.

Vermont Senator Peter Welch has become the first to directly call on the president to withdraw from the White House race for the sake of the country on Wednesday.

Hollywood stars

Actor George Clooney, a staunch Democrat, drew global headlines by calling on the president to exit the race, in a New York Times editorial on Wednesday.

Clooney, who is closely involved with fundraising for the party, said that it could not win with Biden, though he considers the president a friend.

The director of the cult romantic comedy “When Harry Met Sally,” Rob Reiner, backed Clooney’s move as did actors John Cusack and Michael Douglas.

On Monday, writer Stephen King had already launched a plea to the same effect. Producer-heiress Abigail Disney has said she planned to suspend her donations to the Democratic campaign as long as Biden remained in the race.

One of the Democratic Party’s biggest donors, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, also called on Joe Biden to step aside to allow a new Democratic name to try to beat Trump.

Big media

The editorial board of The New York Times has twice called on Biden to withdraw from the 2024 campaign. The board includes renowned columnists and is supposed to reflect the values of the newspaper.

The Boston Globe made the same move, while commentators in The Atlantic and other magazines and newspapers have also urged the president to change course.

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