Hunter Biden has taken a strong stance concerning his ongoing tension with actor George Clooney, responding in detail during a recent interview. The confrontation reignited following Clooney’s public op-ed in The New York Times last year, where he urged President Joe Biden to step aside from the 2024 presidential race due to concerns about the president’s declining condition.
This public call for change came amid reports of an awkward encounter at a high-profile fundraiser, where Clooney allegedly found the president less sharp than expected. Hunter Biden’s recent remarks offer his perspective on these events and challenge the narrative advanced by Clooney.
Details Behind the Fundraiser Encounter with President Biden
Last year, George Clooney authored an opinion piece titled
I Love Joe Biden, But We Need a New Nominee,
expressing his belief that President Biden should not seek re-election. Clooney’s concerns intensified after an encounter at a fundraising event, where he reportedly found the president “severely diminished,” as described in Jake Tapper’s book. The account suggested President Biden seemed to have aged significantly since Clooney’s last meeting in late 2022.
At the fundraiser, an aide had to gently remind President Biden about Clooney’s presence, indicating the president might not have immediately recognized the actor despite Clooney being the event’s host. Sources close to the event observed the awkwardness, noting that the president did not initially register Clooney’s identity during the meeting.
Hunter Biden’s Rebuttal on the Fundraiser Incident
In an extensive interview with Channel 5’s Andrew Callaghan, Hunter Biden offered a sharply contrasting version of the fundraiser interaction. He explained that Clooney was not truly the event’s organizer but served as entertainment, and that the president’s team follows strict protocols when meeting crowds during such events.
“Here’s what [Clooney] said. He said that the president needed to be introduced to him at a fundraiser that he was ostensibly the host of. There’s this gigantic fundraiser in which George Clooney wasn’t really the host. He was the entertainment. God bless him. I appreciate when entertainers and movie stars are on our side, want to raise money and stuff like that,”
Hunter said.
He further detailed the process usually involved during these events.
“If you’re with the president at any given time, you probably have been at a rope line. What happens is people come to take pictures, usually before or after an event. The president will line up, people will come up and they’ll take a picture with them and he’ll say ‘Hello.’”
Hunter described how an aide typically introduces people to the president at such gatherings.
“There’s a person that stands next to the president, and they say, ‘Mr. President, George Clooney and Julia Roberts.’ ‘Hey, George, Julia, how you doing?’ And you may have been filming him all day, and he may know George for the last 30 years, and he may have met him 15 times, but the guy on his shoulder, who’s usually a military officer, has one job to say the name of the person that’s walking up. That’s it.”
He accused Clooney of fabricating the story to justify publicly opposing President Biden. Hunter argued,
“George Clooney is now going to rationalize why he attempted to cut the knees out from a sitting president, the most successful president in the history of his party in his life in terms of the legislative policies that he wanted to see passed, had to justify somehow him going above and beyond to write an op-ed in The New York Times to try to force the sitting president of the United States out of the race. And so he makes up this story about how the president had to be introduced to him.”
Texts and Tensions Behind the Scenes
Hunter revealed further friction stemming from disagreements within the fundraiser’s planning and political positions. He recounted that Clooney was initially reluctant to attend the event due to dissatisfaction with President Biden’s public stance regarding an arrest warrant issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to Hunter, Clooney expressed anger towards the president for not supporting the warrant, which was reportedly influenced by Clooney’s wife.
“By the way, I remember that George Clooney wasn’t going to show up to that fundraiser. He was bitching to the White House staff, the senior staff that he was so angry that the president would criticize the arrest warrant that was executed for Netanyahu,”
Hunter said. He added that Clooney sent numerous text messages demanding retribution against the president and threatened to embarrass him by withdrawing from the fundraiser.
Hunter’s Harsh Words About Clooney and His Influence
When confronted with claims that Clooney once influenced actor Jack Black‘s political decisions, Hunter responded with blunt language, dismissing Clooney and his circle entirely. He emphasized his refusal to show politeness toward Clooney.
“No. 1, I agree with Quentin Tarantino [you can find the Quentin-George story here]. F-king George Clooney is not a f-king actor. He is f-king like… I don’t know what he is. He’s a brand. And by the way, God bless him. You know what? He supposedly treats his friends really well. You know what I mean? Buys them things, and he’s got a really great place in Lake Como, and he’s great friends with Barack Obama. F-k you. What do you have to do with f-king anything? Why do I have to f-king listen to you?”
Hunter declared.
He underscored his frustration that Clooney would seek to undermine a president with decades of public service.
“What right do you have to step on a man who’s given 52 years of his f-king life to the service of this country and decide that you, George Clooney, are going to take out basically a full page ad in the f-king New York Times to undermine the president at a time in which, by the way, what do people care about the most? Why do you think that the Republicans have an advantage over us? Because they’re unified.”
Significance of the Feud and Its Broader Implications
This public dispute highlights a rare but intense clash between a prominent political family and a Hollywood figure. Hunter Biden’s detailed response sheds light on behind-the-scenes tensions at high-profile political events and the impact of celebrity voices in political discourse.
The feud underscores ongoing debates about loyalty, influence, and unity within the Democratic Party as it approaches the 2024 election cycle. Hunter’s critique of Clooney’s public opposition may reflect broader frustrations within the Biden camp regarding external challenges to the president’s re-election bid.
As the 2024 race continues, this tension between Hunter Biden and George Clooney could shape public perceptions and influence political alliances, highlighting the complex intersection of politics, celebrity, and media narratives.
Our Reader’s Queries
Q. Did George Clooney go to Harvard?
A. George Clooney went to Northern Kentucky University and the University of Cincinnati, but he did not finish his degree at either school.
Q. What religion does George Clooney follow?
A. Clooney grew up following strict Roman Catholic beliefs. However, in 1998, he shared that he was unsure about believing in Heaven or God. He mentioned, “Our whole family was very Catholic.”
