Michael Douglas has reluctantly joined the chorus of voices expressing concern over President Joe Biden staying in the 2024 presidential race.
“It’s very hard to speak badly about the man,” the actor exclusively told Page Six at a screening for the “America’s Burning” documentary in New York City Wednesday night, which he attended with his kids, Carys and Dylan.
“It’s so painful for so many people who really admire him and see what an incredible three and a half years he’s had as president. But I think the tide is turning.”
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Biden’s performance at a presidential debate earlier this month has sparked concern amongst voters, with many questioning whether he’s fit for re-election. Since then, a growing number of Democrats have also been calling on Biden to bow out of the presidential race.
Even George Clooney recently entered the chat, arguing in a New York Times op-ed that the 81-year-old incumbent “cannot win.” Clooney, 63, penned the opinion piece just months after he co-hosted a Biden fundraiser that raised approximately $30 million.
Douglas, 79, told Page Six that he finds the whole situation “heartbreaking” to witness, but stressed that the Democratic party needs to “get it in sync, you know, just for a candidate.”
“Either we have to support him and continue or not,” Douglas, 79, explained.
The longtime Democratic supporter further argued that he believes the Republican nominee, convicted felon Donald Trump, “has been very smart in just being quiet and watching the self-destructions, this cannibalism” playing out as the election draws closer.
“And so the Democrats have to get their act together,” he pleaded.
Douglas was in New York City to promote his new documentary, “America’s Burning,” which he co-produced and narrated. The project explores the worrying decline of the American middle class.
“There’s a lot of people that are just not happy,” he told Page Six on the red carpet. “And I think they’re not happy because they don’t have the financing.”
The Oscar winner also decried the rise of the mega-wealthy, telling us, he was “trying to remember” when he “first realized that there was a billionaire” in the world.
“[Now] you have the list of billionaires and … a list of people [worth] $100 billion. So something is out of whack,” he continued.
“I think it really has to do with the amount of money that’s gotten involved in politics. Hopefully everybody says, ‘Well, you’re fighting windmills.’ I don’t know. I think we’ve got to start somewhere.”
“America’s Burning” hits theaters July 12.
