Hollywood, Donors and California Politicians Against Biden – Telemundo 52

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Hollywood executives, major donors and key politicians in California, a Democratic stronghold, have been the main force behind the revolt against President Joe Biden, working behind the scenes to end his campaign in November's election.

The main culprit is the influential California congresswoman and former speaker of the lower house, Nancy Pelosi, who has privately called on Biden to step down and, although she has been careful not to make her rejection public, has given her allies in Congress carte blanche to openly call for the president's removal.

One of them was California lawmaker Adam Schiff, who this week urged Biden to “pass the baton,” words that dozens of members of Congress have already repeated so that the president can retire and let another, younger politician take on the challenge (2017-2021) in the November elections.

Although the Democratic panic began after the first presidential debate, followed by a series of mistakes by the president at public events, his poor performance in television interviews or his delicate health, for many, the real turning point came earlier in California, when Biden starred at a fundraising event packed with Hollywood stars.

Julia Roberts and George Clooney were the main celebrities announced for the event, which took place on June 15 and was also attended by beloved former President Barack Obama (2009-2017) and regular Oscar presenter Jimmy Kimmel.

Hollywood, the great Democratic fortress, against him

Although the meeting passed without major incidents and was a successful day of fundraising for the party, accumulating more than $30 million, some donors and personalities present, including the star of “Gravity”, assured a month late that it was the first time they noticed Biden's fragility.

“It’s devastating to say, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fundraiser was not the Joe Biden () of 2010, he wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed in the debate,” Clooney said in an op-ed later published in The New York Times.

“I love Biden, but we need a new candidate,” the actor said, publicly calling for Biden's withdrawal, shaking the foundations of the Democratic Party.

“We cannot and must not go down this path in America,” President Joe Biden said.

Before Clooney, horror novelist Stephen King had called for the same thing, and like them, Hollywood figures such as Michael Douglas, John Cusack, Damon Lindelof and Michael Moore have made known their disagreement with the president's nomination.

In addition, powerful donors such as the heiress of the entertainment colossus The Walt Disney Company, filmmaker and philanthropist Abigail Disney or Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings have already cut off their million-dollar funding streams for the president's candidacy.

Silicon Valley Entrepreneurs Side With Republicans

In the 2016 election, when Trump won, it was nearly impossible to find Republican allies among entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, the tech epicenter. However, in 2024, the situation has changed.

Elon Musk, who supported Obama in 2008, Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Biden himself in 2020, changed his position in 2024. He now openly uses his social networks to support the Republican candidate and criticize the current president.

Musk is joined by his friends and industry leaders, such as David O. Sacks, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, among others.

Despite the pressure, Biden, who at 81 is the oldest president in U.S. history, has given no public sign of wanting to retire.

In fact, he made it clear that he intends to resume his campaign events next week after being isolated at his Delaware residence after testing positive for COVID-19. “I look forward to getting back on the campaign trail next week,” Biden said in a press release Friday.