Actress Ashley Judd has joined calls for President Joe Biden to step aside from the presidential race following his performance at last month’s debate, claiming she fears he will lose to Republican Donald Trump in November’s election.
In an opinion piece USA Today In an op-ed published Friday, Judd called on Biden to “voluntarily and gracefully step aside” to allow his party to support “a capable and strong Democrat” for president. She described Biden in the debate as “unrestrained, spouting a stream of infuriating lies and inept at standing up to Trump.”
Judd, who has publicly supported Biden and other Democrats across the country, was referring to the political activism that came with her decades-long career in Hollywood, where her allegations against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein helped spark the #MeToo movement.
Judd warned that he fears that if voters return Trump to the White House, he will “wield presidential power with unprecedented and unfathomable cruelty and unfairness,” and said now was crucial for Democrats to field an alternative to Biden and defeat him.
“We no longer have time for distractions and internal divisions,” she said.
Ashley Judd: I ask Biden to step down. Defeating Trump is critical. https://t.co/T3yDzhmJew
— USA TODAY Opinion (@usatodayopinion) July 12, 2024
Judd did not say who he would name as a potential successor to Biden, and a representative for him did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on who he would recommend.
Her call comes as Democrats consider whether to retain Biden as the party’s nominee, given concerns about his age and his ability to win a general election against President Trump.
Earlier this week, movie star and lifelong Democrat George Clooney wrote an opinion piece in The New York Times saying that while he loves Biden, his nomination would cost Democrats not only the presidency but also congressional races. Clooney pointed to Biden’s weakening during an exchange at a fundraiser in Los Angeles last month.
Judd visited the White House in April to help promote the Biden administration’s new national strategy on suicide prevention. She lost her mother, singer Naomi Judd, to suicide in 2022. The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on Ashley Judd’s article.
