Actor and outspoken Democrat George Clooney says the President Joe Biden America saw during the debate is the same man he saw at a fundraiser in Los Angeles last month.
While Democrats claim Biden, 81, simply had a “bad night,” insiders reveal Biden is not the same man who ran for president in 2020.
Clooney co-hosted a lavish fundraiser in Los Angeles with Biden on June 16, just 11 days before a dramatic debate performance with Donald Trump that saw the president have to be escorted off the stage by former President Barack Obama.
“It’s heartbreaking to say, but the Joe Biden I was at the fundraiser with three weeks ago was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010,” the lifelong Democrat wrote in an opinion piece in the New York Times“He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020.”
“He was the same guy we all saw at the debate,” Clooney admitted.
The op-ed was a compelling call from Clooney for Biden to step down as the party’s nominee in November and let someone else take charge.
Lifelong Democrat George Clooney revealed what he thinks of President Joe Biden when he called for him to withdraw from the 2024 race in a scathing op-ed following his disastrous debate. Pictured above are George Clooney, President Biden, Julia Roberts and Barack Obama at a June 16 fundraiser that raised $28 million
Clooney co-hosted a Biden fundraiser in Los Angeles last month, where Obama had to gently tug Biden by the arm and usher him off the stage after the president froze amid applause.
The Hollywood megastar, who has hosted numerous fundraisers, said in a scathing op-ed in the New York Times on Wednesday morning that Biden cannot win the “race against time.”
The actor also condemned Democratic Party leaders for ignoring “every warning sign” of Biden’s declining physical and mental health and for trying to defend his actions in the car crash to Donald Trump.
“Was he tired? Yes. A cold? Maybe. But our party leaders need to stop telling us that 51 million people didn’t see what we just saw,” Clooney wrote.
He added that Democratic voters “collectively hold their breath or turn down the volume when we see the president we respect step off Air Force One or walk back to the microphone to answer an impromptu question.”
Clooney’s LA fundraiser last month — which he co-hosted with Obama and actress Julia Roberts — raised $28 million for Biden’s re-election campaign.
However, the event was overshadowed by questions about the president’s health after video emerged showing Obama having to grab Biden by the arm and escort him off the stage.
In the video, Biden and Obama are seen waving and smiling as they receive a standing ovation at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Biden applauds and gives the audience a thumbs-up, but then stops moving and stares out into the crowd for a few seconds.
Obama, who was still smiling and waving at this point, grabbed Biden by the wrist and gently tugged. That’s when the president appears to come out.
They walk off the stage together, with Obama talking into Biden’s ear and patting him on the shoulder.
The White House called the video fake. Officials also noted that the fundraiser took place the day after Biden returned from attending the G7 summit in Italy.
Clooney joins dozens of Democrats and Biden allies who have called on the president to resign in the two weeks since his rambling, mumbling appearance on CNN. The actor has hosted some of the largest fundraisers in party history, including one last month for Biden’s reelection.
Biden has consistently maintained that he’s not going anywhere and that he will still beat Trump in November, but Clooney’s comments are a huge blow to his struggling campaign.
George Clooney visited the White House where he was honored by the president in 2022
“Joe Biden is a hero; he saved democracy in 2020. We need him to do it again in 2024,” the actor wrote in the opinion piece.
Clooney, who hosted a massive fundraiser for Biden in Los Angeles on June 16, said the person he saw there was the candidate the world saw during last week’s presidential debate.
“I love Joe Biden. As a senator. As vice president and as president. I consider him a friend and I believe in him. Believe in his character. Believe in his morals. Over the last four years, he has won many of the battles he has fought,” Clooney wrote.
Biden and Clooney have a long relationship, dating back to Biden’s time as chairman of the Senate Foreign Services Committee. Clooney worked on issues in Darfur and was in contact with him.
The president honored Clooney for his support, hosting him at the White House in December 2022 for the Kennedy Center Honors.
The actor has become a major force in the Democratic Party, raising millions for its candidates and is seen as an influential voice in American politics.
His rejection of Biden could also hurt the Democratic Party financially.
Hollywood donors, with their deep pockets, were said to be furious with campaign manager Jeffrey Katzenberg after Biden’s performance at the debate.
The donors, like many Biden supporters, said they felt misled and betrayed over the president’s health.
Clooney argued that it was more important to defeat Donald Trump in November than to keep Biden on the ballot.
“Our party leaders need to stop telling us that 51 million people didn’t see what we just saw. We are all so scared of the prospect of a second Trump term that we have chosen to ignore every warning sign,” he wrote.
Some prominent Democrats are already arguing that Clooney is right.
“I have concerns,” Michael Douglas, a longtime Biden supporter, told ABC’s The View. “I think it’s a fair point,” he said of Clooney’s op-ed.
Biden is struggling to rally Democrats behind his presidential bid as calls for him to drop out of the race grow louder.
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi is among those who appear to have doubts about Biden’s decision to enter the race.
“It’s up to the president to decide whether or not to run. We all encourage him to make that decision. Because time is running out,” she said on Morning Joe on Wednesday.
Some Democratic lawmakers have expressed doubts about Biden’s ability to defeat Trump.
Clooney said he has heard these concerns from members of Congress he has spoken to, including concerns that the Democratic Party will lose the House of Representatives and the Senate.
“We are not going to win in November with this president. And we are not going to win the House and we are going to lose the Senate. This is not just my opinion; this is the opinion of every senator, congressman and governor I have spoken to in private. Every single one of them, regardless of what they say in public,” he wrote.
He argues that a candidate should be chosen at the Democratic National Party Convention, which will be held in Chicago from August 19 to 22.
And the actor suggested a number of candidates who could replace Biden and win in November.
“Let’s listen to Wes Moore, Kamala Harris, Gretchen Whitmer, Gavin Newsom, Andy Beshear, JB Pritzker and others,” he said, naming several governors and the vice president.
“Let’s agree that the candidates don’t attack each other, but in the short time we have, focus on what will make this country rise. Then we can go to the Democratic convention next month and figure it out,” he added.
Amal Clooney and George Clooney – Clooney was reportedly furious over the White House’s decision to question Amal’s work on the Gaza war
Clooney met then-President Barack Obama at the White House in 2010 to discuss the situation in Sudan.
George Clooney with Bill Clinton at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
Biden has insisted he will stay in the race.
He sent a letter to all Democratic lawmakers Monday announcing his decision. He has also reached out to party officials, donors and mayors as he tries to shore up his support among the party faithful.
“I want you to know that despite all the speculation in the press and elsewhere, I am determined to stay in this race, to see this race through to the end, and to defeat Donald Trump,” Biden wrote to Democrats.