George Clooney has responded for the first time to his New York Times op-ed calling on Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential race.

"I've never actually had to answer that question before, so I guess I'll just do it here," Clooney said when asked about it during a press conference in Venice for his new film "Wolfs."

"The one who should be commended is the president, who did the most selfless thing since George Washington," he said, adding: "What should be remembered is the selfless act of someone who, it's very hard to let go of power — we know that, we've seen it all over the world — and if someone says there's a better path forward, then all the credit goes to him. And that's really the truth … I'm just very proud of where we are in the state of the world right now."

When asked elsewhere about Apple's decision to no longer release the film theatrically, instead giving it a limited release, Clooney also cited a report from Nicole Sterling in the New York Times last week that said he and Pitt had each been paid more than $35 million.