Though George Clooney doesn’t regret his New York Times op-ed urging former president Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential election, he does think it was a “mistake” having Kamala Harris step in as the democratic nominee.
During a recent interview on CBS’ Sunday Morning, the two-time Oscar winner was asked by Seth Doane if he would write the op-ed again if given the opportunity.
“Yes. We had a chance. I wanted there to be, as I wrote in the op-ed, a primary. Let’s battle-test this quickly and get it up and going,” Clooney responded.
However, the Jay Kelly actor added, “I think the mistake with it being Kamala is that she had to run against her own record. It’s very hard to do if the point of running is to say, ‘I’m not that person.’ It’s hard to do, and so she was given a very tough task. I think it was a mistake, quite honestly. But we are where we are. We were gonna lose more House seats, they say. So I don’t know. To not do it would be to say, ‘I’m not gonna tell the truth.’”
In July 2024, shortly after Biden’s disastrous debate against Donald Trump on June 27, Clooney penned a blunt essay, published by the NYT, calling on Biden to step aside in his campaign for reelection. “We are not going to win in November with this president,” he wrote in part at the time. “On top of that, we won’t win the House, and we’re going to lose the Senate. This isn’t only my opinion; this is the opinion of every senator and Congress member and governor who I’ve spoken with in private. Every single one, irrespective of what he or she is saying publicly.”
Later that month, he endorsed Harris for president of the United States. However, the former vice president ultimately lost the election in November 2024 to Trump.
In September 2024, Clooney also addressed the impact of his op-ed and applauded Biden for his decision to withdraw his reelection bid, calling it the “most selfless thing that anybody has done since George Washington.”
“What should be remembered is the selfless act of someone who did the hardest thing to do,” the Wolfs actor added at the Venice Film Festival. “It’s very hard to let go of power — we know that; we’ve seen it all around the world — and for someone to say, I think there’s a better way forward, all the credit goes to him, and that’s really the truth.”
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