George Clooney ‘furious’ with Obama for pressuring him to push Biden’s drop-out prior to election: report

A source familiar with the matter reportedly told the outlet, “George is furious with Obama for disappearing after the election disaster and leaving him holding the bag for pushing the plan with his Hollywood pal.”

Clooney had been a vocal advocate for President Joe Biden to step aside during the 2024 election cycle. In a New York Times op-ed published over the summer, Clooney expressed concerns about Biden’s mental acuity and the Democratic Party’s election odds, saying the left would not “win in November with this president.” Eleven days later, Biden announced he would not seek re-election, ultimately endorsing Harris as the party’s nominee.

The source reportedly told the outlet that it was Obama who encouraged Clooney to push for Biden’s withdrawal, as Obama feared the optics of publicly calling on his former vice president to exit the race. But since Harris’ crushing defeat to President-Elect Donald Trump, many democrats have placed the blame on Clooney to vent their frustration, leading the actor to feel unfairly targeted.

"Obama and Clooney have been tight for years, and George became Barack's surrogate in leading the charge for Joe to step away", the source said. "Barack knew he would look like a traitor if he publicly called for Joe to be cut loose. And now, he's trying to walk away from it all.”

"George feels duped and vows he's not going to be anyone's political water boy anymore,” the source added.

Clooney’s activism has played a large role in Democratic politics. During the campaign, he hosted a fundraiser that raised $28 million for Biden’s reelection campaign, the most for the party from a single event in history, according to CNN. But now, Clooney is bracing for criticism from the left and mockery from the right.

"George feels he stepped up and took a bullet for the team, and now everyone's complaining about the bloodbath,” the source said, per the outlet. "Lots of celebrities, like Beyoncé, were on the campaign trail pumping up Kamala, but George became the face of the Hollywood liberals by directly calling for Biden to end his campaign and throwing the whole process into chaos.”

“He thinks Obama should come forward and say that George did the right thing, and it isn't his fault that it didn't work out,” the source continued. "But he doesn't expect that will be forthcoming, and it's left George feeling like a patsy."