Stephen King Says Joe Biden Should Resign; Rob Reiner Agrees

Getty Images

Rob Reiner and Stephen King have joined the growing chorus of Hollywood voices publicly urging Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 Democratic presidential race. The “All in the Family” actor and “Princess Bride” director posted a statement on X to his 2.3 million followers saying Biden’s departure is imperative given that democracy itself is at stake in this election.

“It’s time to stop messing around,” Reiner wrote. “If the convict wins, we lose our democracy. Joe Biden served the United States with honor, decency and dignity. It’s time for Joe Biden to resign.”

King wrote to his supporters: “Joe Biden has been a great president, but it is time for him – for the sake of the America he so clearly loves – to announce that he will not seek reelection.”

Calls for Biden to resign have been mounting after his disastrous performance in the first presidential debate against Donald Trump. Biden’s first post-debate interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos failed to quell those calls. Reiner and King join figures like Netflix co-founder and executive chairman Reed Hastings in urging Biden not to seek reelection. Hastings and his wife, Patty Quillin, happen to be among the Democratic Party’s biggest donors.

“Biden must step aside to allow a strong Democratic leader to defeat Trump and keep us safe and prosperous,” Hastings said in a recent email to The New York Times.

Biden’s disappointing performance in the debate has divided Democrats. “The View” co-host Sara Haines also said the next morning that Biden should walk away from the debate if Democrats want to prevent Trump from becoming president again.

“I think President Biden needs to resign and be replaced,” Haines told his co-hosts on air. “If we’re going to defeat Donald Trump in November, then I absolutely think they need to act quickly, and I implore the people closest to the president to have the very difficult conversations that they’re going to have to have, and not just for the political ramifications, but for humanity, his integrity and his legacy. Everything is at stake right now.”

In his interview with ABC News, Biden pushed back against his critics and stressed that he currently has no intention of dropping out of the presidential race.