In a New York Times guest essay this week that sent shockwaves through Hollywood and Washington, George Clooney reminded readers he had great affection for the man he wants to dump from the presidential ticket.
"I love Joe Biden," Clooney wrote. "As a senator. As a vice president and as president. I consider him a friend, and I believe in him. Believe in his character. Believe in his morals. In the last four years, he’s won many of the battles he’s faced."
But then came that word, "but."
"But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. None of us can. 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."
Just like that, Clooney called on his dear friend to leave the race. In doing so, he joined a horde of other liberal media members and an increasing number of prominent Democrats who are afraid Biden can't defeat former President Trump, even as the polls continue to show a tight contest.
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Many of them, Fox News Digital has noted, have insisted they "love Joe Biden" and it's nothing personal. Others who haven't called on him to leave have also used the mantra.
The night of Biden's frail, halting debate showing that started the party panic, CNN's Van Jones sounded close to tears.
"That was painful. I love Joe Biden. I worked for Joe Biden," he said. "He didn't do well at all."
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough solemnly said on June 28, the day after the debate, that perhaps Biden's time had come, calling him a "man I love" but noting a Fortune 500 company might replace a CEO who had a similar performance. Scarborough has since suggested, however, that Democrats slow their rolls on replacing him.
The Bulwark's Tim Miller said on MSNBC on June 28, "I love Joe Biden, I think he's been a good president," before saying that if Biden wasn't capable of making the case that Trump was a threat, he should be replaced.
"We love Joe Biden. He's been a magnificent president," Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said on MSNBC on June 30, while acknowledging party "concerns" about his viability.
Former Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, said, "We love Joe Biden, I love Joe Biden" on July 2 but has since called for him to leave the race. So have Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., who also made variations of the same comment in media appearances since the debate while also calling on Biden to get out of the race.
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Journalists have said they've heard the same thing behind the scenes, including NBC's Ali Vitali, who seemed to sum up the sentiment on Friday.
"i haven't talked to anyone who's a staffer, who's an operative, who's an elected, who doesn't say some form of the sentence, ‘I love Joe Biden, but,’" she said.
Biden has made it emphatically clear he's staying in the 2024 race, however. Earlier this week, he called into "Morning Joe," a show that's been strongly supportive of his presidency.
"The bottom line here is that we’re not going anywhere," he said. "I am not going anywhere."
Biden's campaign didn't return a request for comment.
