Harris gets Clooney’s endorsement; Biden to address the nation

Vice President Kamala Harris has seemingly wrapped up the Democratic nomination for president, with a flood of endorsements, cash — and the support of Hollywood’s finest.

George Clooney endorsed Harris in a statement to CNN on Tuesday, just two weeks after the actor penned a bombshell op-ed in the New York Times calling for President Biden to step down.

“President Biden has shown what true leadership is. He’s saving democracy once again,” Clooney said. “We’re all so excited to do whatever we can to support Vice President Harris in her historic quest.”

Clooney’s endorsement came as Harris seemed all but certain to clinch the Democratic nomination for president. Within a day after Biden announced he was stepping aside and endorsing Harris, the vice president racked up support from every corner of the Democratic Party, pulling in $81 million from more than 880,000 donors, breaking a record for the most cash raised in a 24-hour period.

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More crucially, several state delegations pledged their vote for her — including California’s, the largest delegation in the nation. Delegates are headed to Chicago in August to formally nominate the Democrat for president, but the national party is expected to host a virtual roll call vote before then.

Biden is also scheduled to give an address from the Oval Office Wednesday at 5 p.m. PDT.

Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands) and Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) said in a news conference Tuesday that House Democrats are united in defeating Trump and helping Harris with her sprint to the general election. Aguilar added that “as Californians, we have immense pride in the vice president.”

“California will play a significant role in this political year,” Aguilar said. “I think having the vice president at the top of the ticket will be incredibly hopeful. 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 the tough-minded prosecutor that she is, that she’s going to prosecute the case against Donald Trump, and she’s going to remind Californians what’s at stake.”

Aguilar added that Trump’s favorability rating in deep-blue California is “quite low.”

Already, many famous Californians have thrown their support behind Harris. Several Hollywood elites — including Spike Lee, Aaron Sorkin, Shonda Rhimes and Mindy Kaling — expressed excitement in social media posts Tuesday.

Clooney has long been a Democratic supporter and donor, including for 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, headlined “I Love Joe Biden. But We Need a New Nominee,” Clooney said the president had clearly declined — further cementing the image that rocked the nation when Biden appeared weak and flustered at his June debate against former President Trump.

“It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe “big F-ing deal” 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. Already, the campaign was pushing “Harris for President” merchandise, including a “Madam President” mug.