George Clooney praises Joe Biden for dropping out of presidential race

George Clooney has praised Joe Biden for dropping out of the 2024 presidential race.

The veteran actor and filmmaker has praised the current President of the United States for dropping out of the presidential race against Donald Trump.

"President Biden has shown what true leadership is," Clooney said in a statement to CNN on Tuesday. "He's saving democracy once again."

The Oscar-winning actor's statement comes nearly two weeks after he called for Biden to drop out of the race after stumbling through a disastrous debate against Trump last month and an interview with George Stephanopoulos in which he appeared to struggle to form words.

"Was he tired? Yes. A cold? Maybe. But our party leaders need to stop telling us that 51 million people didn't see what we just saw," Clooney wrote in a New York Times op-ed published on July 10.

He continued, "We're all so terrified by the prospect of a second Trump term that we've opted to ignore every warning sign."

Biden announced on Sunday that he had ended his re-election campaign.

Elsewhere in his statement to CNN, Clooney, who is an influential Democratic donor, endorsed the current Vice President Kamala Harris for president.

"We're all so excited to do whatever we can to support Vice President Harris in her historic quest," he stated.

Harris has received several celebrity endorsements since Biden dropped out of the race, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Charli XCX, Demi Lovato, Barbra Streisand and John Legend.

In the first 24 hours after Biden dropped out of the race, Harris received a record $81 million (£63 million) in grassroots donations.