Actor and Democratic fundraiser George Clooney made his first comments following President Joe Biden dropping out of the presidential election while at the Venice International Film Festival Sunday night for his new comedy Wolfs with co-star Brad Pitt.
A reporter asked Clooney about the impact of his New York Times op-ed on July 10 titled “I Love Joe Biden. But We Need a New Nominee,” which helped build momentum for the pressure campaign to oust the president from staying on the Democratic ticket following his disastrous debate performance against former President Donald Trump.
George Clooney talks about the effect his NYT op-ed about Joe Biden had on the U.S. presidential election at the #VeniceFilmFestival pic.twitter.com/XPbAcTMhKt
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) September 2, 2024
“I’ve never had to answer this question, so I might as well here,” Clooney said at a news conference.
“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 of Biden.
“What should be remembered is the selfless act of someone who — it’s very hard to let go of power,” Clooney added. “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.”
The actor and Democratic activist held high-dollar fundraisers with Hollywood elites in support of Biden just weeks before writing his op-ed.
Clooney did not note that Biden’s circumstances were quite different from those of George Washington, of which some social media users took note.
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“He didn’t step down for the good of the country. He did it by force. History will remember Clooney’s boot print on Biden’s back,” a social media user reacted to Clooney’s comments.
Former President Barack Obama reportedly knew in advance of Clooney’s brutal op-ed calling for Biden to end his campaign and did not raise objections. Obama also praised Biden when he spoke at the Democratic National Convention despite allegations that he was involved in encouraging Biden to drop out of the race.
