Hollywood big shots have joined in calls for President Joe Biden to step down ahead of November’s election following his performance at the first presidential debate. Biden said his behavior at the live debate against former President Donald Trump in Atlanta, in which he gave a series of confusing responses and appeared to trail off, was him having a “bad night.” He swore he could take on and beat the presumptive Republican nominee at the ballot box. But not everyone is convinced, from filmmakers Michael Moore and Rob Reiner to Netflix founder, Reed Hastings. Newsweek reached out to Biden’s campaign for comment by email.
Rob Reiner
When Harry Met Sally… filmmaker Reiner was trending on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday after he said it was time to “stop f****** around” and tell Biden to move on. “It’s time to stop f***** around. If the Convicted Felon wins, we lose our Democracy. Joe Biden has effectively served US with honor, decency, and dignity. It’s time for Joe Biden to step down,” he wrote.
John Cusack
The High Fidelity actor, who is vocal about his political opinions on X, reposted Reiner’s message and added: “There has been no bigger supporter of Biden’s domestic policy than Rob – he’s right.”
Reed Hastings
A longtime Biden supporter, Netflix founder Reed Hastings and his wife, Patty Quillin, have now suspended their support for Biden. They had donated more than $1.5 million to Biden during his 2020 presidential race. “Biden needs to step aside to allow a vigorous Democratic leader to beat Trump and keep us safe and prosperous,” Hastings said in an email to The New York Times.
Michael Moore
The Bowling for Columbine documentary maker said Biden running for president again was a form of “elder abuse.” “This is about whether he should serve another four days,” Moore said on his Rumble podcast. “If I have to be the only one to stand for Joe Biden—that’s right, you heard me say that—if I have to be the only one to stand up for Joe Biden here, to protect him from the cruelest form of elder abuse I’ve ever been forced to watch, well then that’s what I’ll do,” Moore said.
Stephen King
The horror author, who has previously said he joined the Democrat Party in 1970 and is a frequent Trump critic, also joined calls on Monday morning for Biden to step down. “Joe Biden has been a fine president, but it’s time for him—in the interests of the America he so clearly loves—to announce he will not run for re-election,” he wrote on X.
Ari Emanuel
The Hollywood mega-agent and Democratic donor hinted on Friday that more party donors were set to turn against the president. “The lifeblood to a campaign in politics, the lifeblood is money,” Emanuel said at the Aspen Institute’s Ideas Festival. “And maybe the only way this gets—with smart lawyers looking at it—is if the money starts drying up. And I’ve talked—I mean, I’m assuming all of you’ve gotten a lot of calls. I’ve gotten a lot of calls. We’ve all sat there.”
Abigail Disney
Activist Abigail Disney, the great-niece of Walt Disney, told CNBC she would not make any more donations to the Democratic Party unless it replaced Biden as its nominee for November’s election. “Biden is a good man and has served his country admirably, but the stakes are far too high. If Biden does not step down, the Democrats will lose. Of that, I am absolutely certain. The consequences for the loss will be genuinely dire,” she said.
Damon Lindelof
The Lost creator wrote an essay for Deadline saying no one should donate to the Democrats unless Biden assured he would step aside. “I know what my eyes and my ears and my heart tell me. I’ve been asleep at the wheel and it’s time to wake the f*** up…I believe in Joe Biden. I believe in him so much that we wrote him a sizeable check as recently as two weeks ago,” he wrote.
