E-Paper
Netflix boss Reed Hastings, Hollywood urge Biden to step aside after debate debacle: ‘Short term hurt for…'
Netflix boss Reed Hastings joined Hollywood and growing number of Democrats to call on Joe Biden to step aside from the 2024 presidential race.
Reed Hastings, a prominent Democratic Party donor and co-founder of the streaming service Netflix (NFLX.O), opens new tab, has joined a growing number of Democratic supporters to urge President Joe Biden to withdraw from the race after his disastrous debate performance last week.
In an email to the New York Times, Hastings was cited as stating,
“Biden needs to step aside to allow a vigorous Democratic leader to beat Trump and keep us safe and prosperous.”
Hastings, who has donated over $20 million to the Democratic party over the years with his wife Patty Quillin, is among the largest Democratic donors to issue such a statement.
In the face of multiple public appeals for his resignation, including those from two Democratic members of Congress, Biden vowed to continue running against the Republican rival Donald Trump in November.
Biden on Wednesday held a call with the Democratic National Committee and stated, “Let me say this as clearly as I possibly can, as simply and straightforward as I can: I am running... no one is pushing me out.” He went on to say, “I’m not leaving. I’m in this race to the end and we’re going to win.”
However, some Democrats are still uncertain if Biden will win as the party's nominee.
Also Read: ‘Unbelievable’: White House under fire for ‘lying to our faces’ after Joe Biden accidentally admits…
Here's what Hollywood camp has to say on Biden rerun
After the Biden's "simply game-changing" debate performance, screenwriter Damon Lindelof, a lifelong Democrat who supported Biden in 2020 and donated to his campaign, declared that it was time for Democrats to "wake the f*** up" and recommended contributors to withhold their funds to the party until Biden withdraws his reelection campaign.
“And so, I propose a DEMbargo. No checks written. No ActBlue links clicked. For anyone,” the cocreator of the hit television show Lost wrote in a Deadline guest column on Wednesday. He further called his move a “short term hurt for long term healing.”
Prior to the CNN debate, Hollywood celebrities, including Julia Roberts, George Clooney, arranged a historic $30 million event for Biden's campaign in Los Angeles. However, Hollywood celebrities have started to criticise Biden following his poor debate performance.
Hollywood mogul Ari Emanuel expressed his dissatisfaction with the Biden's rerun.
During his appearance at the Aspen Ideas Festival, he told the crowd that he's “pi**** off at the founding father.”
“They had the start date of 35 years old, they just didn’t give us the end date. And, well, everybody died [back then], so they didn’t have to give the end date,” he stated, as per the Hollywood Reporter.
In addition, Emanuel accused Biden's advisors of lying to people about his deteriorating mental and physical capacity.
In his first post-debate interview, Biden will speak with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos on Friday.
