Stephen King has become the latest high profile figure to criticise Joe Biden ahead of the US presidential elections later this year.
The US president has faced intense criticism in recent weeks following a highly publicised debate with former president Donald Trump in which Biden’s fitness for office was questioned.
On Monday (July 8), King, who endorsed Biden at the last election, called for the President to step aside saying it was in the “interest” of the country for him to do so.
“Joe Biden has been a fine president, but it’s time for him—in the interests of the America he so clearly loves—to announce he will not run for re-election,” he shared in a social media post that split fans of the acclaimed horror author.
However, he’s not the first from the entertainment world to criticise Biden in recent weeks.
When Harry Met Sally… director Rob Reiner, 77 shared a similar view to King.
“If the Convicted Felon wins, we lose our Democracy. Joe Biden has effectively served US with honour, decency, and dignity. It’s time for Joe Biden to step down,” he wrote on Twitter/X.
Joe Biden has been a fine president, but it’s time for him—in the interests of the America he so clearly loves—to announce he will not run for re-election.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) July 8, 2024
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Similarly, Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof also called for Biden to step down: “Biden has to go & the Dems need to wake up,” he wrote in a column for Deadline.
“When Joe finally leaves the mound, I will stand and applaud. Because he truly pitched a great game,” he added.
Cardi B also criticised Biden recently despite having pledged her support to Biden in the past, interviewing him and endorsing him in the 2020 election.
However, in May, Cardi said her feelings on him had changed based on his stance on Palestine and his inaction over the economy.
“I feel like people got betrayed,” she told Rolling Stone. “It’s just like, ‘Damn, y’all not caring about nobody.’ Then, it really gets me upset that there is solutions to it. There is a solution. I know there’s a solution because you’re spending billions of dollars on any fucking thing.”
Biden has remained defiant on running for office. In an open letter sent to Democrats yesterday (July 8), the president said he was “firmly committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the end, and to beating Donald Trump”.
He also said he’d had “extensive conversations with the leadership of the party, elected officials, rank and file members and most importantly Democratic voters” and that he had “heard the concerns that people have – their good faith fears and worries about what is at stake in this election. I am not blind to them.”
He added: “I wouldn’t be running again if I did not absolutely believe I was the best person to beat Donald Trump in 2024…We had a Democratic nomination process and the voters have spoken clearly and decisively.
“The voters — and the voters alone — decide the nominee of the Democratic Party.
“The question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now. And it’s time for it to end. We have one job. And that is to beat Donald Trump. Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the task head only helps Trump and hurts us.”