Hollywood star and "lifelong Democrat" George Clooney, who co-hosted a fundraiser for US President Joe Biden last month, withdrew his support for the incumbent's re-election campaign.
For nearly two weeks the 81-year-old Biden has sought to stem defections by Democratic Party members, donors and other allies worried he might lose the 5 November vote to Republican Donald Trump, 78, after a
.
The president has said
and that he believes he can beat Trump.
In an opinion piece published in the New York Times, Clooney wrote: "It's devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fundraiser 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".
"We are not going to win in November with this president. On top of that, we won't win the House, and we're going to lose the Senate," Clooney said.
"Joe Biden is a hero; he saved democracy in 2020. We need him to do it again in 2024."
George Clooney (left) withdrew his support for Joe Biden's re-election campaign in an opinion piece. Source: AAP / Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
Often described as an "ATM for Democrats," Hollywood has traditionally been a significant source of donations for the party.
Clooney's event, hosted with actor Julia Roberts, raised more than $US 30 million ($44 million) in what the Biden campaign said was the largest Democratic fundraiser in history.
After Biden's debate performance, several Hollywood donors called on the president to end his campaign.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said Biden must decide quickly whether or not to stay in the race, declining to say definitively that she wanted him to run.
"I want him to do whatever he decides to do," she said. "We're all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short."
Asked to respond, Biden's campaign referred to a letter Biden sent Democrats in Congress that said he was "firmly committed" to staying in the race and beating Trump.
Democrats in Congress remain deeply divided over whether to fall in line behind Biden or to urge him to step aside because of persistent questions about his health and acuity.
Biden has said he is fit to serve but understands the questions.
Some have expressed concern that Biden continuing at the top of the ticket could cost the party the White House and both houses of Congress in November.
But public defections remain a small segment of the 213 Democratic-aligned House members, and the party's leadership continues to back Biden publicly.
No members of the Senate have publicly said Biden should stand aside although Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado said on Tuesday he did not believe Biden could beat Trump.
