Former President Barack Obama was informed in advance about George Clooney's controversial call for President Joe Biden to step out of the 2024 presidential race, yet chose not to interfere, according to a new report by Politico.
US President Joe Biden (L) laughs with former US President Barack Obama onstage during a campaign fundraiser at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on June 15, 2024.
“It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fundraiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010.
He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020.
We can put our heads in the sand and pray for a miracle in November, or we can speak the truth.”“I love Joe Biden.
Former President Barack Obama was informed in advance about George Clooney's controversial call for President Joe Biden to step out of the 2024 presidential race, yet chose not to interfere, according to a new report by Politico. US President Joe Biden (L) laughs with former US President Barack Obama onstage during a campaign fundraiser at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on June 15, 2024. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP)(AFP)
Sources revealed that the Oscar-winning actor contacted Obama before publishing his op-ed in the New York Times. Although Obama did not endorse Clooney’s stance, he also didn’t discourage him from proceeding with his public declaration.
In his op-ed, Clooney, who had recently co-hosted a Biden fundraiser in Los Angeles that raised approximately $30 million, expressed grave concerns about Biden’s chances of winning the upcoming election.
“It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fundraiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate,” he stated.
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Clooney's op-ed echoes private conversations with…
Both Clooney and Obama attended the aforementioned fundraiser, where they observed Biden’s demeanour. Despite their friendly relationship, Obama chose not to comment on Clooney’s op-ed or the claim that he did not try to dissuade Clooney from voicing his concerns publicly.
Jon Favreau, a former adviser to Obama, echoed Clooney’s sentiments during an interview with CNN. “Clooney was exactly right, and every single person I talked to at the fundraiser thought the same thing, except for the people working for Joe Biden, or at least they didn’t say that,” Favreau remarked.
“I remember my wife, Emily, turned to me after the fundraiser and said, ‘What are we going to do?’ And I said, ‘Well, there is a debate in a week. Either he’ll do well in the debate, and we’ll think he was just tired because he flew all the way back from Europe, and that’ll be that, or he’ll be like this at the debate and then the whole country will be talking about it.’ So, here we are,” he told CNN.
In his op-ed, Clooney did not mince words about Biden’s prospects, declaring, “We are not going to win in November with this president. This isn’t only my opinion; this is the opinion of every senator and Congress member and governor that I’ve spoken with in private. Every single one, irrespective of what he or she is saying publicly.”
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Clooney urged those eight House Democrats who have publicly called for Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race to confront reality, stating, “The dam has broken. We can put our heads in the sand and pray for a miracle in November, or we can speak the truth.”
“I love Joe Biden. As a senator. As a vice president and as president. I consider him a friend, and I believe in him.”
