Hollywood actor George Clooney is reportedly “furious” with former President Barack Obama for using him as a “patsy” in the shadowy plot to oust President Biden this past summer.
“George is furious with Obama for disappearing after the election disaster and leaving him holding the bag for pushing the plan with his Hollywood pals,” an unnamed entertainment industry source close to the A-list actor told Radaronline. “George feels duped and vows he’s not going to be anyone’s political water boy anymore,” another source told the outlet.
Just weeks after heading a Hollywood fundraiser for Biden’s re-election campaign, Clooney emerged as a major player in the political arena when he called on the president to step down in an op-ed titled “I Love Joe Biden. But We Need a New Nominee,” in the New York Times. The devastating op-ed was published not long after Biden’s disastrous debate performance back in June.
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TIMESGRAB / / U.S. President Joe Biden and former U.S. President Barack Obama with Julia Roberts and George Clooney, during a star-studded campaign fundraiser at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California, U.S.,
Clooney explained that as a “lifelong Democrat,” he loves President Biden and believes he has done an excellent job as president. “But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. None of us can. It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser 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,” Clooney wrote.
“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. We’re all so terrified by the prospect of a second Trump term that we’ve opted to ignore every warning sign. The George Stephanopoulos interview only reinforced what we saw the week before. As Democrats, we collectively hold our breath or turn down the volume whenever we see the president, who we respect, walk off Air Force One or walk back to a mic to answer an unscripted question.”
Biden ultimately did indeed step aside, at which point reports began to surface concerning a behind-the-scenes plot spearheaded by Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
Obama, a longtime friend of Clooney’s, reportedly “green-lit” the article in order to apply pressure on his former running mate. The former president had hoped that pressure from Hollywood actors — who had provided a significant portion of Biden’s war chest — would convince Biden that fundraising was drying up.
According to multiple reports from a wide range of outlets — as well as numerous confirmations from Pelosi — plot organizers had hoped for an “open primary process” in which a New Democratic Party nominee would be selected at the party’s convention in August. Obama was reportedly “furious” with Biden’s decision to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris, as the former president had intended to throw his weight behind Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) at the convention, which took place in his hometown of Chicago.
Biden’s decision to endorse Harris was described as a “f**k you” to Biden and Pelosi for forcing him out, according to a report from the New York Post citing sources close to the Biden family.
In the aftermath of Harris’ crushing defeat, Clooney feels that he has been made into a scapegoat. “George feels he stepped up and took a bullet for the team, and now everyone’s complaining about the bloodbath,” another source told RadarOnline.
“Lots of celebrities, like Beyoncé, were on the campaign trail pumping up Kamala, but George became the face of the Hollywood liberals by directly calling for Biden to end his campaign and throwing the whole process into chaos.”
“He thinks Obama should come forward and say that George did the right thing and it isn’t his fault that it didn’t work out,” the source continued. “But he doesn’t expect that will be forthcoming. and it’s left George feeling like a patsy.”
In the days following Trump’s victory, numerous Democratic Party pundits pointed the finger at Clooney for penning the op-ed. In response, the actor reportedly vowed to take a step back from political activism.
