Rob Reiner and Stephen King have joined the growing chorus of Hollywood voices publicly urging Joe Biden to step down as the Democratic nominee in the 2024 presidential election. The “All in the Family” actor and “Princess Bride” director posted a statement on X to his 2.3 million followers in which he said Biden’s exit is imperative considering democracy itself is at stake in this election.
“It’s time to stop fucking around,” Reiner wrote. “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.”
King wrote to his followers: “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.”
Calls for Biden to step down erupted after his disastrous performance at the first presidential debate against Donald Trump. Biden’s first post-debate interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos did little to put an end to the calls. Reiner and King join the likes of Netflix co-founder and executive chairman Reed Hastings in urging Biden not to seek reelection. Hastings and his wife, Patty Quillin, happen to be one of the Democratic party’s biggest donors.
“Biden needs to step aside to allow a vigorous Democratic leader to beat Trump and keep us safe and prosperous,” Hastings said in a recent email to The New York Times.
Biden’s lackluster performance at the debate has divided Democrats. “The View” co-host Sara Haines also proclaimed the morning after the debate that Biden needed to get out of the way if the Democrats are to block Trump from becoming president again.
“I think President Biden needs to step down and be replaced,” Haines told her co-hosts on air. “If we want to defeat Donald Trump in November then I absolutely think that… they’ve got to act fast, and I would implore those closest with the President to have the very hard conversations they’re going to need to have and not just for political ramifications, but for humanity, his integrity and his legacy. That’s all on the line right now.”
During his interview with ABC News, Biden pushed back against his critics and stressed he currently has no intention of dropping out of the presidential race.
Source Agencies
