George Clooney recently penned a blistering op-ed in The New York Times urging Joe Biden to step out of the presidential race, and it appears Barack Obama was aware of Clooney’s intentions. The two men, who have been friends and collaborators on significant Democratic Party fundraisers, were reportedly in contact before the op-ed was published. According to Politico, Clooney reached out to Obama prior to the piece’s release, and despite this, the op-ed still went live.
“While Obama did not encourage or advise Clooney to say what he said, he also didn’t object to it,” Politico reported, citing “people familiar with their exchange.” Both Clooney and Obama recently attended a Hollywood fundraiser to support Biden’s re-election campaign.
This lack of opposition from Obama is notable, given that he was one of the first major figures to defend Biden following his poor debate performance last month. Many of Obama’s former aides have become some of Biden’s most vocal critics.
In his op-ed, Clooney referenced the Hollywood fundraiser, stating, “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 fundraiser 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.”
Obama’s apparent tacit approval of the op-ed is significant, especially given Biden was his vice president for eight years, and Biden’s presidency is often seen as an extension of the Obama era.
Other prominent Democrats, such as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have also indicated their openness to moving beyond Biden. The calls for Biden to step aside have only grown louder as he continues his media efforts to demonstrate that he is not too old or diminished to serve effectively.