Does Joe Biden Feel Betrayed By George Clooney?

By Andrew Sanford | Politics | July 24, 2024 |

By Andrew Sanford | Politics | July 24, 2024 |

It’s been a wild forty years since there was an attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. A lot has happened since then! The Boys aired its Season 4 finale. People finally saw what Nicolas Cage looks like in Longlegs. Oh, and Joe Biden announced that he would not be seeking reelection, making way for Kamala Harris to take over the Democratic party’s nomination.

Democrats writ large had been calling on Joe Biden to step down since 1997 (that’s when the last debate happened, right?). To be fair, plenty of Democrats were also insistent that Biden remains in the race; they just weren’t the loudest ones. They couldn’t get an Op-Ed published in the New York Times, unlike a certain former star of the hit medical drama ER.

George Clooney wrote in the NYT about how Biden was not the same man he was four years ago. Clooney’s confidence was shaken to the point that he felt the need to publicly call on Biden to step aside. It was a significant move. We will (likely) never know if Clooney’s pleas specifically helped turn the tide. However, we do know that he is one of the more popular folks to do so, so people will keep asking about him.

Biden’s Press Secretary, Karine Jean-Perre, stopped by The View to talk about Biden’s decision to drop out of the race. Joy Behar asked if Biden felt betrayed by people like Clooney openly calling for his job. According to Jean-Perre, Biden was understanding. “He understands where people are. He understands having done this, 36 years as a Senator, eight years as Vice President, and now almost four years as President,” Jean-Pierre explained to the hosts. “He gets where we are as a country.”

It is a fairly standard answer. I didn’t expect her to say, “he doesn’t get it and will be jotting down names in his revenge book.” Still, what is most encouraging is her next answer. Like all Democrats right now, she is very on message. “Let’s not forget, there’s a lot at stake,” Jean-Perre reminded The View hosts. “There’s a lot at stake, guys, a lot. Our democracy is at stake. A woman’s right to choose and to make decisions on their body’s is at stake. Voting rights is at stake and he gets that. Let’s not forget why he ran in the first place. In 2020 he decided to jump in, he didn’t have to, he decided to jump in because he wanted to save the soul of this nation.”

Joe Biden is no longer running for reelection. Things are changing, and fast. But people seem prepared to handle it. Let’s just hope it stays that way.