George Clooney, prominent Dem supporter, calls for Biden to withdraw
FILE - Actor George Clooney, one of the 2022 Kennedy Center honorees, attends a reception at the White House on December 04, 2022 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Another big name in politics is calling for President Biden to exit the race, actor George Clooney.
Clooney is a lifelong Democrat and has consistently hosted massive fundraisers for the political party over the years. His most recent one last month pulled in $30 million for the Biden campaign.
The night was a success by all accounts - the $30 million is even a fundraising record - but Clooney has some thoughts in retrospect to share. He wrote a lengthy opinion for the New York Times.
"It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser 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," Clooney wrote.
Biden’s debate performance has been dividing Democrats for weeks, with many others calling on him to bow out of the race. Biden maintains he’s staying in the race.
But Clooney believes Biden isn’t the right Democratic candidate to win the presidency - and he said several senators, congress members and governors have agreed with him in private conversations.
RELATED: ABC's George Stephanpoulos asserts Biden can't serve 2nd term
"We are not going to win in November with this president," Clooney wrote, adding that this is about Biden’s age and nothing more.
President Biden is 81 years old, and would be 82 come a January 2025 inauguration. His state of mental and physical fitness has been a concern among voters for months, but was especially heightened after a low-energy debate performance that showed Biden with a quiet, raspy voice.
Can Joe Biden be replaced?
It would be nearly impossible for Democrats to replace Biden against his will based on several factors.
Every state has already held its presidential primary. Democratic rules mandate that the delegates Biden won remain bound to support him at the party's upcoming national convention unless he tells them he’s leaving the race, according to The Associated Press.
The conventions and their rules are controlled by the political parties. The Democratic National Committee could meet before the convention opens on Aug. 19 and change how things will work, but that isn't likely as long as Biden wants to continue seeking reelection.
If Biden chose to step aside, the process of replacing him would be unprecedented.
"Would it be messy? Yes. Democracy is messy. But would it enliven our party and wake up voters who, long before the June debate, had already checked out? It sure would," Clooney wrote.
RELATED: List of top Democrats who have called on Biden to exit race
What Joe Biden is saying
President Biden has conceded the debate didn’t go well for him, but has maintained he is staying in the race and is up for the fight to win a second term as president.
He is publicly urging his supporters to stay unified, and said Sunday at a public appearance in Pennsylvania that he feels the most optimistic he’s ever felt about America’s future.
On Monday, he sent a letter to Hill Democrats insisting he’s "declining" to step aside and said it’s time for the party drama "to end."
But more top Democrats this week continue to call for his exit. Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi even stopped short of a full endorsement on Wednesday, saying "it’s up to the president to decide."
"Joe Biden is a hero; he saved democracy in 2020," Clooney finished in his essay. "We need him to do it again in 2024."
This story was reported from Detroit. The Associated Press contributed.