Celebrated American author Stephen King has joined other celebrities in criticising President Joe Biden ahead of the US presidential election later this year. Who are the Hollywood figures calling for Biden to step down and how important is their support?
Is it time to step down? Some prominent voices in Hollywood and the entertainment industry seem to think so.
US President Joe Biden, who turns 82 in November, has come under intense criticism in recent weeks following a highly publicized debate with former President Donald Trump.
During the debate, the octogenarian president performed poorly, showing signs of confusion and appearing to lose his train of thought on several occasions. In one viral moment, the commander-in-chief struggled to say the name of Medicare when answering a question about taxing the wealthy.
Biden’s performance has many of his supporters questioning his fitness for office and his ability to run for re-election — especially with low approval ratings and polls that put him behind his recently convicted opponent.
The incumbent president is losing crucial support from his colleagues, his donors, and several high-profile celebrities. In fact, it appears that Biden is losing a significant portion of the Democratic vote.
Famous American author Stephen King is the latest celebrity to join these calls. King had already supported Biden in the last election and is now calling for the president to step aside.
“Joe Biden has been a good president, but it is time for him – in the interests of the America he so clearly loves – to announce that he will not run for re-election,” he shared on X.
Predictably, Elon Musk was quick to respond, posting a troll post: “Even Stephen King is voting for Trump!”
King is not the first big name in entertainment to call for Biden’s removal in recent weeks.
Talk show host Stephen Colbert, in his first Late Night show since the debate, said watching Biden’s disastrous performance “took a year off my life.”
During the program, he said: “I believe (Biden) is a good enough man. He is a good enough president to put the needs of the country ahead of the needs of his ego. And as painful as it may be, it is possible that handing over leadership to a younger generation is the right thing for the greater good.”
Similarly, When Harry Met Sally… director Rob Reiner shared: “If the convicted felon wins, we lose our democracy. Joe Biden has served America with honor, decency and dignity. It’s time for Joe Biden to step down.”
Director Michael Moore (Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11) added a different take to his argument against Biden. During an appearance on MSNBC, Moore accused the Democratic Party of committing “elder abuse” by pressuring Biden to continue campaigning.
“The problem here is that I think there’s a form of elder abuse going on here, where the Democratic Party and the people in the apparatus are pushing and pushing him to stay,” Moore said. “I don’t know about you, but despite my criticism of Biden, watching the debate a week ago was heartbreaking,” he continued. “It was like you imagined it was your dad standing there. And I was like, why isn’t anyone doing anything? Why did they let him get on stage in this state? Who’s watching out for him? Who’s watching out for him right now?”
Another voice was that of Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof, who also called for Biden to resign: “Biden needs to go and the Democrats need to wake up,” he wrote in a column for Deadline.
He asked others not to donate to the Democratic Party until “there is a change at the top of the ticket.”
“I am a lifelong Democrat and I love my complicated and glorious country,” he said in the op-ed. “I am not writing this anonymously because I am asking others in positions of influence to do the same. I don’t know if what I have to say will matter, but I know what my eyes, my ears and my heart are telling me. I have been asleep at the wheel and it is time to wake up.”
The call for a boycott of donations to the Democratic Party was echoed by Disney heiress Abigail Disney – Walt Disney’s great-niece and a longtime Democratic donor – who warned that the Republican Party would win in November unless there was a change of candidate, adding: “I intend to stop making any contributions to the party unless and until they replace Biden at the top of the ticket.”
Another of the Democrats’ biggest donors, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, said in an email to The New York Times: “Biden needs to step aside to allow a strong Democratic leader to defeat Trump and keep us safe and prosperous.”
Despite these appeals and boycotts, the incumbent president remained defiant about running for office and insistent about his ability to win again.
In an open letter sent to Democrats on Monday (July 8), the president said he was “firmly committed to staying in this race, to fighting this race to the end, and to defeating Donald Trump.”
The president also said he had “extensive conversations with party leadership, elected officials, grassroots members and, most importantly, Democratic voters” and that he had “heard the concerns that people have — their good-faith fears and concerns about what’s at stake in this election. I’m not blind to them.”
He added: “I would not be running again if I did not absolutely believe that I am the best person to defeat Donald Trump in 2024… We had a Democratic nominating process and the voters spoke clearly and decisively. The voters – and only the voters – decide the Democratic Party nominee.”
Therefore, no handover of the baton is planned…
It remains to be seen whether Biden can weather the storm, to what extent celebrity supporters shape the vote and whether he can rally his fervent supporters in time for the November election.
But if he continues to lose crucial support from leading voices and donors in the entertainment industry, fears will continue to grow that his presence on the ticket is handing Donald Trump a second term in the White House.
2024-07-10 17:12:06