George Clooney defends Biden exit call: 'It was a civic duty'

George Clooney says he has no regrets about urging then-President Biden to bow out of the 2024 race — and he’s not losing sleep over any lingering backlash.

The Oscar-winning actor defended his blistering New York Times op-ed published in July, now insisting he spoke out of responsibility, not defiance.

“Well, I don’t know if it was brave; it was a civic duty,” Mr. Clooney said Wednesday in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper. “I’m a Democrat in Kentucky, so I get it. When I saw people on my side of the street not telling the truth, I thought that was time to [say something].”

Mr. Clooney warned Democrats in that NYT piece, “We are not going to win in November with this president. On top of that, we won’t win the House, and we’re going to lose the Senate.”

The “O Brother, Where Art Thou” star spoke to CNN while promoting his Broadway debut — a stage adaptation of “Good Night, and Good Luck.” Mr. Clooney’s pick for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, he added in his interview, is Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who he said acted as a “proper leader” in his handling of last year’s Baltimore Key Bridge collapse.