Celebrities including Aaron Sorkin, Robert De Niro and Barbra Streisand have shared their support for the US president’s decision to end his election campaign
Hollywood has reacted to the news that the US president, Joe Biden, is dropping out of the presidential election with gratitude and a sigh of relief, having for the most part stayed stumm in recent weeks as only a few celebrities called for him to step aside.
Just hours before Biden announced he was ending his bid for re-election and endorsing the vice-president, Kamala Harris, West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin argued in a New York Times opinion piece that the Democrats should select Republican Mitt Romney to defeat former president Donald Trump in November, as “a clear and powerful demonstration” about “stopping a deranged man from taking power”.
But once Biden revealed he was dropping out of the race, Sorkin retracted the idea and endorsed Harris, who has already launched her campaign for the White House.
“I take it all back. Harris for America!” Sorkin said in a statement shared by West Wing actor star Joshua Malina on X and confirmed by Sorkin’s agent.
Among vocal Democrat supporters, Biden’s decision was widely praised. Robert De Niro, an outspoken critic of Donald Trump and the narrator of one of Biden’s campaign ads, told the Hill that he felt “respect, admiration, and affection” for Biden for his decision.
“In an act of shrewd politics and selfless patriotism, Joe Biden is stepping aside to clear the path for another Democrat to become president … because there is nothing more important for our country than defeating Donald Trump at the ballot box,” he said in his statement.
