George Clooney has commented for the first time on his New York Times op-ed asking Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race.

“I’ve actually never had to address that question, so I suppose I will do it here,” Clooney said when asked about it at the Venice press conference for his new film “ Wolfs .”

“The person who should be applauded is the president, who has done the most selfless thing a president has done 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 for someone to say I think there’s a better path forward, 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.”

Elsewhere, when asked about Apple shifting the film from a widespread theatrical release to a limited one, Clooney also referenced a New York Times report from last week by Nicole Sterling that he and Pitt were paid over $35 million each.

“It was millions and millions of dollars less than what was reported,” he said. “I think it’s detrimental to our industry to have that be the norm.”

But on the evolving landscape of the entertainment industry and moviegoing, he said that streaming was a necessary development.

“We need it. Our industry needs it. And [streamers] also benefit from having films release,” he said. “But we haven’t got it all figured out. It’s a revolution in our industry. We need Apple and Amazon and they actually need distributors. They need Sony and Warner Bros, who have been doing this for 100 years.”

That being said, Clooney admitted that it was disappointing that “Wolfs” was not receiving the widespread release that Sony had initially planned for, and was now being distributed on Apple TV+ with only a limited theatrical release.

“Brad and I contributed some of our salary back to [the limited release]. It’s a disappointment, of course, as it would have been great to have a wide release. We’ve encountered a few hurdles along the way.”

He mentioned that his recent directorial effort “Boys in the Boat” was originally intended for MGM but “ended up being released by Amazon, without a foreign release. “So there are some aspects we’re figuring out.”

Written and directed by “Spider-Man” director Jon Watts, the Apple Original Films action-comedy stars Brad Pitt and George Clooney as two professional fixers who prefer to work solo but must team up when hired for the same job. “Wolfs” also features Amy Ryan, Austin Abrams, and Poorna Jagannathan. Apple announced earlier this month that a sequel to the film is already in development with Watts and the two stars attached.

“Wolfs” marks Pitt and Clooney’s first film together since the Coen Brother’s 2008 black comedy “Burn After Reading.” Prior to that, they co-starred in the “Ocean’s” franchise from 2001 to 2007. Both actors have previously attended the Venice Film Festival, with Clooney attending in 2009 for Grant Heslov’s “The Men Who Stare at Goats” and Pitt having premiered David Fincher’s “Fight Club” in 1999 and earning the Volpi Cup for best actor with Andrew Dominik’s “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” in 2007. “Wolfs” marks Watts’ first film debut at the Venice Film Festival.

Following its Venice premiere, “Wolfs” will have a limited theatrical release starting September 20 before premiering on Apple TV+ on September 27.