In Hollywood, the panic over Joe Biden becomes a silent cry

So far, Hollywood has remained silent, at least in public. The country has yet to begin withholding its donations, despite widespread calls for President Donald Trump. Joe Biden He has decided to step aside and let another Democratic candidate take his place in the 2024 campaign. The patience of his supporters in the entertainment industry, however, is running out. Some say the concern they feel privately could turn into full-blown panic and lead to more explicit measures if they don’t see change in the next two weeks.

The alarm that erupted after the 81-year-old Biden’s performance in last Thursday’s presidential debate against Donald Trump has saturated the ranks of actors, filmmakers, executives and other deep-pocketed allies in Hollywood. Leaders in this politically active segment of the industry are trying to keep things calm, as Andy Spahn, the Los Angeles-based political consultant Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg, and other show business titans, who helped raise more than $20 million for Biden’s 2020 campaign. He declined an interview about the current setback, but offered Vanity Fair this statement: “Everyone needs to take a deep breath.”

Democratic-leaning politicians in the entertainment industry are largely following this advice, although their breathing is a little closer to hyperventilating at the moment.

On Saturday, two days after the debate, about 200 show business heavyweights gathered for a fundraising brunch at the entertainment lawyer’s home. Ken Ziffren, The Los Angeles film czar, who has long been responsible for developing production in the city. The event was not focused on the presidential campaign, but on a group of Democrats vying for hotly contested seats in the U.S. Senate. Biden’s performance dominated the conversation anyway, at least offstage.

Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt led the discussion on stage, which was attended by the Vice President Kamala Harristhe husband of, Jean-Pierre Lefebvre; sitting senators Tammy Baldwin from Wisconsin and Bob Casey Jr. of Pennsylvania, who are running for re-election in November; and representatives of Congress Ruben Gallego from Arizona, Colin Allred from Texas and California Adam Schiff (on his home turf), all hope to move from the House of Representatives to the Senate. There was no mention in their conversation of Biden’s disappointing debate performance or the possibility that he might withdraw, but in the audience it was a compelling topic of discussion.

Among these influential figures, it was a rare moment of helplessness. “What I’m hearing is that the idea of ​​Biden leaving has not gone away and may well happen. Donors are very concerned, but there seems to be a strategic effort to allow Biden to make this decision alone and gracefully,” said one donor who was present Saturday, a self-described moderate whose Democratic allegiance has been galvanized by distaste for Trump.

The donor adds that the consensus in Hollywood circles is that pressuring Biden publicly will only push him to retreat: “This is all strategic to allow Joe to save face, because he’s particularly stubborn. And he’s also known, to his credit, to stand up when he’s on the mat. He dethroned Trump. There seems to be this balance between letting things simmer, and figuring out if he’s still alive.” East the person most likely to potentially beat Trump, or whether the situation is truly hopeless.

In search of solace, Hollywood is looking for a stronger performance. If the campaign’s framing is to be believed, according to which Biden simply had a bad night, as a former president Barack Obama The president then has about two weeks to prove it before he faces a revolt from his potential supporters. “He had this rally in North Carolina the next day and by all accounts he was very strong,” the donor said. The vanity fair. “There must be a thousand, because 51 million people or more watched this debate. He must be on the ground every day. He must try to flood the area, with interviews or press conferences from the White House. Just having one rally the next day to stop the bleeding is not going to keep him on the ticket.”

Biden’s most famous supporters remain publicly loyal. On Friday morning, at the height of the debate panic, the campaign sent small donors a mass email addressed to: “From: Robert De Niro,“who has rarely passed up an opportunity to bash Trump. “Over the years, I have played my share of vicious and dishonest characters. I have spent a lot of time studying bad men,” the Oscar winner wrote.Donald Trump “He’s a tough guy who has no morals or ethics and will do anything he can to get power. As an actor, I could never play him. There’s not a shred of humanity to hold on to.” De Niro didn’t mention the debate, but added, asking for a $25 campaign donation: “I strongly support Joe Biden … I have every confidence in him to lead the country.”

Others acknowledged the setback while continuing to support the president. Rob Reiner, One of Hollywood’s most outspoken Democrats, Rob Reiner, said on X that even a diminished Biden was better than a malign Trump. “Last night’s debate was a disaster for President Biden,” Reiner wrote. “But the choice is still crystal clear: We can choose either a good, decent man who cares about his fellow citizens and knows how to govern, or a convicted felon who will destroy our democracy. It’s not a hard choice.” On the night of the debate, CNN reported details from an eyewitness at a watch party in Los Angeles, writing: “After a few answers, Rob Reiner was yelling about his loss and Jane Fonda had tears in his eyes.

On his HBO Max series Real time, Bill Maher took a similar, if much more blunt, position. “I’ve said before that I’d vote for his head in a jar of blue liquid. And after last night, it’s time to go get the jar,” he said. He recalled that he had proposed more than a year ago that Biden not run for reelection, and in an op-ed published in The New York Times, Maher said an open convention to replace him could be a blessing in disguise. “Suddenly, instead of rehashing the debate from hell – the worst episode of The Golden Bachelor “They would have a contest, which Americans love,” he wrote. “This may sound a bit far-fetched, but I am completely serious: It would benefit the Democrats and give them a better chance of winning.”

Maher said his choice would be the governor of California Gavin Newsom, who made the rounds on TV after the debate to bolster support for Biden. “Watching him defend Mr. Biden after the debate and defend Mr. Trump reminded me that this guy is good at this,” Maher wrote. “He’s energetic, never at a loss for words or statistics, never stumbles, never intimidated. He’s uncompromising, and that’s important against Mr. Trump.”