Vice President Kamala Harris has seemingly clinched the Democratic presidential nomination, with an avalanche of endorsements, cash and the support of Hollywood's A-listers.
George Clooney backed Harris in a statement to CNN on Tuesday, just two weeks after the actor wrote a powerful op-ed in the New York Times calling for President Biden to resign.
“President Biden has shown what true leadership looks like. He is saving democracy once again,” Clooney said. “We are all very excited to do everything we can to support Vice President Harris in her historic mission.”
Clooney’s endorsement came at a time when Harris seemed all but certain to secure the Democratic presidential nomination. A day after Biden announced he was dropping out and endorsing Harris, the vice president racked up support from across the Democratic Party, raising $81 million from more than 880,000 donors — breaking a record for the most money raised in a 24-hour period.
More importantly, several state delegations have pledged their votes for her, including California’s, the largest delegation in the country. Delegates will head to Chicago in August to formally nominate the Democrat for president, but the national party is expected to hold a virtual roll call vote before then.
Biden is also scheduled to give remarks from the Oval Office on Wednesday at 5 p.m. PDT.
Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands) and Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) said at a news conference Tuesday that House Democrats are united in defeating Trump and helping Harris in her general election race. Aguilar added that “as Californians, we are immensely proud of the vice president.”
“California will play a big role in this political year,” Aguilar said. “I think having the vice president at the top of the ticket will be incredibly encouraging. We know her. We know her track record. We know her as our United States senator. We know her as our attorney general. We know she’s a tough-minded prosecutor, who’s going to prosecute Donald Trump and remind Californians of what’s at stake.”
Aguilar added that Trump's approval rating in California, where the party is deeply Democratic, is “quite low.”
Many famous Californians have already thrown their support behind Harris. Several Hollywood A-listers, including Spike Lee, Aaron Sorkin, Shonda Rhimes and Mindy Kaling, expressed their enthusiasm in social media posts on Tuesday.
Clooney has long been a Democratic supporter and donor, including to Biden. In June, he and Julia Roberts co-hosted a Hollywood fundraiser that raised more than $30 million for the president. But in the op-ed, titled “I love Joe Biden. But we need a new candidate,” Clooney said the president had clearly declined his candidacy, further cementing the image that shook the nation when Biden appeared weak and nervous in his June debate against former President Trump.
“It’s devastating to say, but the Joe Biden I stood with three weeks ago at the fundraiser was not the Joe Biden of 2010,” Clooney wrote on July 10. “He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.”
Harris was headed to Milwaukee on Tuesday for her first political rally as a presidential candidate. The campaign was already promoting “Harris for President” merchandise, including a mug with the caption “Madam President.”
