‘Clooney Was Shaken to His Core’

• A new book alleges that President Joe Biden didn’t recognize George Clooney at a June 2024 Democratic fundraiser that the actor hosted for him.

• Journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson detail the uncomfortable exchange in their new book, Original Sin, writing, “Clooney was shaken to his core.”

• Weeks after the alleged incident, Clooney penned an op-ed in which he pleaded for Biden to step down and let another Democratic candidate run for president.

Did a startling moment at a fundraising event inspire George Clooney to urge Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential election?

That’s one claim made by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson in their upcoming book, Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, which is based on more than 200 interviews with Democratic insiders.

In an excerpt of the book obtained by the The New Yorker, the authors detail how a star-studded Democratic fundraiser in June 2024 seemingly brought Biden’s mental acuity into serious doubt.

At the exclusive Hollywood event — which was hosted by Clooney and Julia Roberts — “It was obvious to many standing there that the president did not know who George Clooney was,” the excerpt reads, noting that an aide seemed to jog Biden’s memory by saying, “You know George.”

“Clooney was shaken to his core,” the excerpt continues. “The president hadn’t recognized him. A man he had known for years.”

The book, which is set to release on May 20, also includes a reaction from someone who witnessed Biden’s apparent memory lapse.

“It was not okay,” the Hollywood VIP told the book’s authors. “That thing, the moment where you recognize someone you know — especially a famous person who’s doing a f—— fundraiser for you — it was delayed. It was uncomfortable.”

A month after drumming up support for Biden at the summer fundraiser, Clooney penned an op-ed for The New York Times titled, “I Love Joe Biden, But We Need a New Nominee.”

“I love Joe Biden. As a senator. As a vice president and as president. I consider him a friend, and I believe in him. Believe in his character. Believe in his morals,” Clooney wrote on July 10, 2024. “In the last four years, he’s won many of the battles he’s faced.”

However, the two-time Oscar winner noted that “the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time,” referencing Biden’s age, which was a top concern to voters — particularly following his disastrous debate performance against Republican nominee Donald Trump. 

Related: George Clooney Urges His Friend Joe Biden to ‘Save Democracy’ by Exiting 2024 Race: ‘One Battle He Cannot Win’

Clooney even referred to the fundraiser as being an eye-opening event, pleading with the then-president to “save democracy” by stepping aside and allowing another candidate to run. 

“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,” Clooney said. “He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.”

Despite Vice President Kamala Harris’ failed bid for the White House in Biden’s place, Clooney has continued to praise the former president for doing “the most selfless thing that anybody has done since George Washington”: stepping aside.

In a statement shared with PEOPLE on May 13, a Biden spokesperson commented on Tapper and Thompson’s new allegations in Original Sin about the 2024 Democratic fundraiser, saying, “We have not reviewed the book, and the authors did not fact check the book with us, despite it being a common practice to do so. So we are not going to respond to every bit of this book they choose to release via select leaks in the reporters’ efforts to make a profit.”

The spokesperson added: “We continue to await anything that shows where Joe Biden had to make a presidential decision or where national security was threatened or where he was unable to do his job. In fact, the evidence points to the opposite — he was a very effective president.”

Clooney’s spokesperson declined to comment on the excerpt.

In April, Clooney, 64, sat down with Tapper for an interview on The Lead, in which he opened up about writing the essay.

“I don’t know if it was brave,” the actor and director admitted. “It was a civic duty because I found that people on my side of the street — I’m a Democrat, I was a Democrat in Kentucky so I get it. When I saw people on my side of the street not telling the truth, I thought it was time to [say something].”

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When Tapper asked Clooney if people were “still mad” at him over the op-ed, he replied, “Some people, sure.”

“It’s OK,” he continued. “You know, listen, the idea of freedom of speech, the specific idea of it, is you can’t demand freedom of speech but ‘Don’t say bad things about me.’ That’s the deal.”

The Wolfs star added, “You have to take a stand. If you believe in it, take a stand. Stand for it. Then deal with the consequences. That’s the rules.”

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