George Clooney has issued a damning call for Joe Biden to quit the US presidential race, mere hours after senior Democrat Nancy Pelosi dodged questions about whether he should continue.

The actor and top Democratic fundraiser wrote a guest essay in The New York Times three weeks following an audience with President Biden at a fundraising event.

On the night, questions were raised about the president's health after his predecessor and longtime political ally, Barack Obama, took his hand to exit the stage.

"I love Joe Biden. As a senator. As a vice president and as president. I consider him a friend," Clooney wrote in his op-ed. "I believe in him. Believe in his character. Believe in his morals."

Clooney also said the president had won many battles in his career, "but the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time."

The celebrities' comments came after Mrs Pelosi, the former House Speaker, joined mounting concern within the party, noting that time was "running short" for Mr Biden, 81, to decide whether to stay in the race after his stumbling debate against Trump.

The president, however, has repeatedly and vehemently affirmed his determination to remain as the Democratic party's candidate and beat Donald Trump, 78, come November.

The fundraising event, co-hosted by Clooney in Los Angeles and also featuring Julia Roberts and Barbra Streisand, brought in a single-night record of roughly $30m (€28m) for the Biden campaign.

 

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The Biden camp has hit back at the Hollywood star, with an anonymous source telling US media: “The President stayed for over 3 hours [at the fundraiser], while Clooney took a photo quickly and left.”

In his blistering critique, Clooney continues: "It's devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fundraiser was not the Joe 'big f***ing deal' Biden of 2010. He wasn't even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.

"This is about age. Nothing more. But also nothing that can be reversed.

"We are not going to win in November with this president."

Clooney added that, following the debate, "the dam has broken."

Asked to respond to Clooney, Mr Biden's campaign referred to a letter the president sent Democrats in Congress that said he was "firmly committed" to his candidacy and beating Trump.

Yet public and political dissent continues to grow within the Democratic party as Biden continues to face scrutiny while hosting the NATO summit in Washington this week.

On Tuesday, Chuck Schumer, the leading Democrat in the Senate, said: "I'm with Joe." Axios, however, reports that Mr Schumer has been privately informing donors of his openness to turn on Biden.

Mr Biden will deliver a rare solo news conference today at 5:30PM EST (22:30 PM IST), and on Monday will record an interview with NBC News, to be broadcast later that evening.