George Clooney has said it was a “mistake” for Kamala Harris to replace Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee in 2024, adding that he stands by his New York Times opinion piece calling for a new candidate. The actor and prominent Democratic donor told CBS’s Sunday Morning that he wished the party had held a primary to choose a nominee rather than a virtual delegate vote.
“We had a chance,” Clooney said. “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. I think the mistake with it being Kamala is 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’.”
Clooney’s July op-ed, headlined “I Love Joe Biden. But We Need a New Nominee”, came after Biden’s poor debate performance against Donald Trump. He wrote that Democrats would not win the White House or Congress with Biden as the candidate. Shortly after, Biden withdrew from the race and endorsed Harris.
Hunter Biden, the president’s son, later attacked Clooney in a profanity-laced interview, saying “Fuck him!” and questioning his right to criticise his father. Asked about the reaction, Clooney said he had seen it but declined to engage. “I could spend a lot of time debunking many of the things he said … but the reality is, I don’t think looking backwards like that is helpful to anyone. I’m just going to wish him well on his ongoing recovery.”
Clooney also noted that Harris “was given a very tough task” because she had to run against her own record. Since her defeat, Harris has been critical of Biden’s initial decision to seek re-election, writing in her book that she felt unable to advise him to drop out without appearing self-serving.
