Joe Biden told to QUIT presidential race in damning intervention from George Clooney

Writing for The New York Times, Clooney said: "I love Joe Biden. As a Senator. As a Vice President and as President. I consider him a friend, and I believe in him.

"Believe in his character. Believe in his morals. In the last four years, he’s won many of the battles he’s faced.

"But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. None of us can. It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe 'big f*****g deal' Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate."

Clooney, who is "terrified" by a second Donald Trump term amid his recent "revenge tour", concluded: "Would it be messy? Yes. Democracy is messy. But would it enliven our party and wake up voters who, long before the June debate, had already checked out?

"It sure would. The short ramp to Election Day would be a benefit for us, not a danger. It would give us the chance to showcase the future without so much opposition research and negative campaigning that comes with these ridiculously long and expensive election seasons.

"This can be an exciting time for democracy, as we’ve just seen with the 200 or so French candidates who stepped aside and put their personal ambitions on hold to save their democracy from the far right. Joe Biden is a hero; he saved democracy in 2020. We need him to do it again in 2024."

Clooney, who raised $28million for Biden's re-election campaign at a fundraiser alongside Julia Roberts just a few weeks ago, is an outspoken critic of Trump.

The 63-year-old Oscar-winning actor is also married to prominent human rights attorney Amal Clooney.

Despite Clooney's call to step aside, Biden is adamanet that he will face-off against Trump in November.

In a letter to Democratic figures in Washington, the 81-year-old wrote: "I want you to know that despite all the speculation in the press and elsewhere, I am firmly committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the end, and to beating Donald Trump."

Biden added: "I can respond to all this by saying clearly and unequivocally: I wouldn't be running again if I did not absolutely believe I was the best person to beat Donald Trump in 2024."

In an interview with MSNBC, Biden also said: "I am not going anywhere."

Biden claimed losing is "not an option" and stressed he is getting "frustrated by elites" in the Democratic Paty calling for him to quit.

Despite the public turning towards Trump during the heated exchange, opinion polls suggest Biden remains better placed than Vice President Kamala Harris to take on the ex-President.

JL Partners revealed 47 per cent of voters currently support Trump, with just 42 per cent backing Biden.

However, Trump's vote share increases to 49 per cent against Harris, with the Vice President slumping to as low as 38 per cent.

California Governor Gavin Newsom and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer were also earmarked as contenders to challenge Trump later this year.

The last Commander-in-Chief not to seek re-election was Lyndon B Johnson in 1968.