A startling new revelation from the upcoming political exposé Original Sin alleges that Joe Biden failed to recognize Hollywood icon George Clooney during a major Democratic fundraiser—an incident that has ignited further debate about the president’s mental fitness.
The scene reportedly unfolded on June 13, 2024, at a star-studded event in Los Angeles co-hosted by Clooney himself. According to an excerpt from Original Sin by journalists Alex Thompson and Jake Tapper, obtained by the New York Post, Biden arrived at the venue appearing physically frail and cognitively disengaged.
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“It was obvious to many standing there that the president did not know who George Clooney was,” the authors wrote. “Clooney was shaken to his core. The president hadn’t recognized him. A man he had known for years.”
Biden reportedly shuffled in with an aide holding his arm and robotically thanked guests. Clooney, who helped raise $30 million for the president’s re-election campaign at the event, watched in disbelief as the president approached.
“Clooney felt a knot form in his stomach as the president approached him,” the book recounts. The situation grew more awkward when Biden failed to greet Clooney by name, prompting an aide to quietly intervene.
“‘You know George,’ the assisting aide told the president,” the excerpt reads. “‘Yeah, yeah,’ the president said to one of the most recognizable men in the world and host of this lucrative fundraiser. ‘Thank you for being here.’”
Only after the aide clarified it was George Clooney did Biden react with, “Oh, yeah … Hi, George!”
The encounter was jarring for Clooney, who, according to the book, had already voiced concerns about Biden’s health. A White House aide had previously confided in the actor about efforts to help the president take longer strides. But this moment, the authors say, revealed a much deeper issue.
“This was much graver,” they wrote. “This was the president of the United States?” A VIP guest who witnessed the exchange described it as “like watching someone who was not alive. It was startling… It was not okay.”
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Less than a month later, Clooney published a bombshell op-ed in The New York Times, pleading for Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race. “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**king deal’ Biden of 2010,” he wrote.
Clooney’s blunt assessment sparked outrage within Biden’s inner circle. Senior adviser Steve Ricchetti was reportedly furious, with one aide claiming he reacted “like a Mob boss.”
Even Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg, who had invited Clooney to co-host the fundraiser, pushed back, telling Clooney, “It’s not fair, what you’re saying.” Clooney replied, “You’re right, it’s not fair… but it’s accurate.”
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