Debate about Biden's candidacy: George Clooney calls for withdrawal
I wrote: "I love Joe Biden," Clooney wrote, who together with Biden had been hosts of a prominent attended fundraiser in Los Angeles last month. "But the one fight he cannot win is against time." The Biden at the fundraiser was not the Biden from 2010 and not even the one from 2020, the Hollywood star continued in his guest post. "It was the same man we all saw at the debate."
Leading Democrats should "ask this president to step down voluntarily," Clooney further wrote. It's about his age, "nothing else," the actor emphasized.
Support for his guest post came from director Rob Reiner. Clooney had spoken out, as many thought, Reiner explained in an online service X: "We love and respect Biden," but "we need someone younger."
Biden spoke loudly and repeatedly got tangled in his statements and did not finish sentences during the TV debate with his challenger Donald Trump.
The oldest president in US history, Biden, is now facing an increasingly loud debate about his physical and mental fitness for the presidency - even within his own party. Seven Democrats in the House of Representatives have already publicly called on the incumbent to step down from the campaign. Several senators also expressed their concerns.
The former Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, Pelosi - still a heavyweight in the party - told MSNBC that the president must decide whether he wants to run. "We all encourage him to make this decision, because time is pressing," she added. However, Biden should wait until after the NATO summit, which is currently taking place in Washington, to make a final decision.
Pelosi had already said shortly after the debate that it was "legitimate" to ask if Biden's weak TV performance was just an "episode" or a lasting condition.
Biden himself, despite the criticism, is "firmly committed," according to his own statements, to staying in the race for the presidential election in November. At the start of the NATO summit in Washington, he showed himself combative. In his speech on the 75th anniversary of the military alliance, the US president spoke energetically and largely without stutter - but he read the speech from a teleprompter instead of the TV duel.
The real public test for Biden's mental robustness, however, will only come at the last G7 summit day on Thursday, when he will give one of his rare press conferences freely and spontaneously and without the help of a teleprompter.
Biden and his team have been intensively working since the TV performance to quell the debate among Democrats about his fitness for the campaign against Trump and a second term. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday that she believed that the Democrats were now "absolutely" united behind Biden.
Meanwhile, former President Trump attacked Biden during a campaign appearance in the state of Florida. He called the president "corrupt, incompetent, and cognitively impaired." Trump also accused a "dark conspiracy" of deceiving the US public about "the cognitive abilities of the man in the Oval Office."
The 78-year-old Trump is supposed to be officially nominated as the Presidential candidate of the Republicans by a party convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, coming week.
- George Clooney, in his New York Times guest post, mentioned his love for Joe Biden's candidacy, but expressed concerns about his age, suggesting a need for a younger candidate.
- Directing attention to Clooney's statement, Rob Reiner agreed, stating they loved and respected Biden but required someone younger for the role.
- Despite Biden's commitment to his candidacy:US President, concerns regarding his age, physical fitness, and mental abilities persist among Democrats.
- During a debate with Donald Trump, Biden's age became evident with his repeated tangling of statements and inability to finish sentences.
- This performance led to growing debate within the Democratic party, with seven House representatives and several senators publicly calling for Biden's withdrawal from the campaign.
- In response, Nancy Pelosi urged Biden to consider his decision to run, recognizing the pressing need for a choice before the NATO summit.
- At the NATO summit, Biden showcased improved speech, reading his speech from a teleprompter instead of the previous televised debate.
- However, the real test for Biden's mental robustness will come at the G7 summit, with his unscripted press conference expected to reveal his spontaneity and cognitive abilities.
- Joe Biden's team has been working diligently since the debate, aiming to quell concerns about his fitness for the campaign against Trump and potential second term.
- Amidst these challenges, former President Trump attacked Biden, labeling him as "corrupt, incompetent, and cognitively impaired," perpetuating the controversy in the lead-up to the Republican National Convention.
