Actor George Clooney on Tuesday endorsed U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris, hailing her 鈥渉istoric鈥� White House bid following President Joe Biden鈥檚 exit from the 2024 presidential race.

Clooney is seen by many Democratic backers in Hollywood as a sort of compass given his engagement and activism. When he  earlier this month calling for the president to not seek re-election in the wake of his disastrous debate performance, it was one of several watershed moments in a movement that ultimately ended with Biden鈥檚 decision on Sunday to exit the race.

鈥淧resident Biden has shown what true leadership is. He鈥檚 saving democracy once again. We鈥檙e all so excited to do whatever we can to support Vice President Harris in her historic quest,鈥� Clooney said in a statement to CNN on Tuesday.

Before his op-ed, Clooney鈥檚 standing with Biden had helped rally wider donor and celebrity support, even among some who had never been big Biden fans and were not enthused about backing him long before the debate. The June fundraiser he headlined raised US$28 million for Biden鈥檚 reelection campaign, the most for the Democratic Party from a single event in history.

So when he wrote that the Biden he saw during the fundraiser, which also included former president Barack Obama, 鈥渨as not the Joe 鈥樷�� Biden of 2010. He wasn鈥檛 even the Joe Biden of 2020,鈥� it was a startling admission from a leading Democratic booster and someone who has interacted with Biden privately that, in his view, the president was unfit to serve another term.

鈥淗e was the same man we all witnessed at the debate,鈥� Clooney added in his op-ed, referencing Biden鈥檚 faltering performance at the June 27 presidential debate on CNN.

Clooney鈥檚 new statement is the latest in a wave of endorsements, including those from state delegations, that have helped push Harris needed to secure the Democratic presidential nomination.

She鈥檚 been backed by well more than the 1,976 pledged delegates needed to win the nomination on the first ballot, according to CNN鈥檚 delegate estimate.

CNN鈥檚 Michael Williams contributed to this report.