Celebrities praise Joe Biden and rally around Kamala Harris

Numerous well-known personalities immediately paid tribute to US President Joe Biden after he announced that he would not run in the presidential election in November.

Hollywood has long been a major source of support and money for Biden’s Democratic Party, but in recent weeks donors have turned away from the president after he performed poorly in a televised debate with his rival Donald Trump.

Since this announcement, some have publicly declared their support for Vice President Kamala Harris in the race for the Democratic nomination.

Talk show host and comedian Jon Stewart called Mr Biden a “legend,” while actor Robert De Niro said his decision was an “act of wise politics and selfless patriotism.”

“There is nothing more important for our country than defeating Donald Trump at the ballot box,” said De Niro, an ardent Trump critic.

Oscar-winning actress and singer Barbara Streisand praised Mr Biden, saying he would “go down in history as a man who achieved significant accomplishments during his four years in office,” in a post on X.

He helped restore “honesty, dignity and integrity to the office after four years of lies, crimes, scandals and chaos,” said the Star Wars actor. Mark Hamilland referred to the time of his predecessor Trump in the White House.

This was confirmed by the director Ken Burnswho said Mr Biden had “led the country out of his predecessor’s disastrous term in office (while) quietly doing good for all Americans”.

Singer John Legend He said he was “grateful for the grace and patriotism” Biden had shown in resigning and threw his support behind Harris: “She is ready for this fight and I look forward to helping her in any way I can.”

According to the actress, Ms Harris has a “trusted and proven” track record Jamie Lee Curtisadding that she was a “passionate advocate for the rights of women and people of color, and that her message was one of hope and unity for America at a time of great national division.”

If she wins the election in November, Ms. Harris would be the first woman and woman of color to win the presidency of the United States.

“Let’s make history!!!”, comedian Kathy Griffin posted on X, while singer Katy Perry shared a video on Instagram in which she sings, “It’s a woman’s world and you’re lucky to live in it” – a reference to her latest single.

Star Trek actors George Takei said the potential election campaign was now a duel of “prosecutor versus felon” – referring to Ms. Harris’ previous career as a prosecutor and Donald Trump’s conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records.

Also singer Charli XCXwho posted on X: “Kamala IS a brat.”

This is a reference to the singer’s recent album “Brat,” which has become a social media trend, with followers tweeting videos of Ms. Harris remixed with Charli XCX’s music.

Kamala HQ – the official X-site of Ms. Harris’ campaign – has also jumped on the trend, changing its cover photo to match the color and style of the Brat album cover.

Several well-known personalities publicly withdrew their support for his campaign and called for his replacement.

One of them is Aaron Sorkin – the creator of the US political drama “The West Wing” – who, in a New York Times op-ed published hours before Biden’s announcement, called on Democrats to nominate Mitt Romney – a well-known Republican senator and former Republican presidential candidate.

He has since backtracked, saying in a post published in his name on West Wing actor Joshua Malina’s X-account: “I take it all back. Harris for America!”

Another is actor George Clooney, who reiterated his “love” for Joe Biden in a New York Times op-ed earlier this month, but said his age and public gaffes during the campaign meant “we’re not going to win with this president in November.”

Mr Clooney has not commented since Mr Biden’s resignation.