George Clooney calls Biden most ‘selfless’ president since George Washington after his damning op-ed urging him to drop out of race

George Clooney has hailed Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race as “the most selfless thing that anybody has done since George Washington.”

In an appearance at the 2024 Venice Film Festival on Sunday September 1 – where he is promoting his new film Wolfs with co-star Brad Pitt – the actor was asked about the “impact” of the damning op-ed he wrote for The New York Times titled “I Love Joe Biden, But We Need a New Nominee”.

The essay is seen as one of the key turning points as momentum built to urge the president to step aside in favor of a younger candidate. Less than two weeks later, Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris — who was also quickly endorsed by Clooney.

“The person who should be applauded is the president who did the most selfless thing that anybody has done since George Washington,” Clooney told journalists at the festival, People reported.

“All of the machinations that got us there, none of that’s going to be remembered, and it shouldn’t be,” he continued.

“What should be remembered is the selfless act of someone who did the hardest thing to do. You know we’ve seen it all around the world, and for someone to say, ‘I think there’s a better way forward,’ he gets all the credit, and that’s really the truth.”

In late July, after the president made the decision to stand down, Clooney said in a statement to CNN: “President Biden has shown what true leadership is. He’s saving democracy once again.”

He added: “We’re all so excited to do whatever we can to support Vice President Harris in her historic quest.”

The Hollywood star’s July 10 op-ed sent shockwaves through the Biden camp, having come just three weeks after Clooney and Julia Roberts hosted a $28m