Actor and longtime Democratic supporter George Clooney has said that the Democratic Party should have organized a primary election last summer, soon after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race.
In a recent interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Clooney explained that skipping the primary and immediately passing the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris made the campaign weak from the start.
Clooney said the campaign was stuck trying to defend a government that many people saw as failing, and it’s very hard to run a campaign where you are indirectly criticizing your administration.
“You can’t run against yourself,” Clooney explained on the CNN show The Lead, pointing to how Harris had to carry forward Biden’s legacy while also trying to show she was different.
George Clooney is not just a Hollywood star—he’s seen as an important voice among Democratic donors and activists. When he wrote an op-ed in The New York Times last year asking Biden not to run again, many took it seriously.
It came right after a tough debate for Biden against Trump, and the piece helped push the conversation about finding a new face for the party. Eventually, Biden stepped away from the race.
Clooney believes that instead of directly backing Harris, the Democratic Party should have allowed other leaders to step forward in a proper primary. He said Harris could have done well in a fair contest, but added that he wanted to see other names in the race, too. Two governors he mentioned were Andy Beshear from Kentucky and Gretchen Whitmer from Michigan.
But the person Clooney seemed most excited about was Wes Moore, the Governor of Maryland. Clooney praised Moore for how he handled the Baltimore bridge collapse and called him a “proper leader.”
He said Moore has something special and could be the person Democrats rally behind in the future.
Now that the 2024 election has passed, Clooney said it’s the right time for Democrats to start thinking about their next leader. “We have to find somebody—rather soon,” he told Tapper, adding that it’s the party’s responsibility to build a strong team now.
Clooney had earlier hosted a high-profile fundraiser for Biden’s 2024 campaign in June. But not long after, Biden’s debate performance against Trump raised concerns, even among his supporters.
Clooney said that was when he felt he had to speak up. In his words, writing the op-ed was a “civic duty.”
He told Tapper that while he has deep respect for Biden and considers him a friend, it became clear that the Biden of 2024 was not the same as the energetic leader people saw in 2010 or even 2020.
In his article, Clooney had clearly written that Biden no longer seemed fit for another term and that the public needed a chance to hear from others—like Harris, Moore, Whitmer, and Beshear.
Clooney’s interest in politics is not just limited to interviews or donations. He is also using his work in theatre to send a message. He’s currently starring in a Broadway play called Good Night, and Good Luck, which is based on the film he directed in 2005.
The play tells the story of journalist Edward R. Murrow and his fight against Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy during the anti-Communist hysteria of the 1950s.
Clooney said Murrow’s words about truth and democracy are still very relevant today. He quoted some powerful lines from Murrow’s broadcasts, like “We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty,” and “Accusation is not proof.”
Clooney said these words still carry deep meaning in today’s political climate, especially when the public is constantly being misled or made to feel afraid.
In the play, Clooney and his team included a video montage that shows clips from different decades, including one of Tapper himself criticizing how some people try to silence opposing views.
Clooney said the idea behind the montage is to show how the media, the public, and even politicians have shaped the way we get our information—and sometimes, how that has helped create a “wild, wild West” atmosphere in politics.
He said the key question today is not just who’s running for office, but how we choose to stay informed. Clooney believes the public needs to be more aware of how easily misinformation can spread and how quickly people can forget the importance of evidence, truth, and fairness.
At a time when both major political parties are looking for ways to connect with voters and move forward after a difficult few years, Clooney’s words have sparked new conversations.
His comments could push the Democratic Party to think more openly about 2028 and beyond, and to consider holding fair and open contests that allow strong leaders to emerge.
For now, Clooney seems to be putting his hopes on Wes Moore as a rising star—but his bigger message is clear: the Democratic Party needs to act fast, choose its next leader wisely, and be honest with the public if it wants to regain trust and win in the future.