A new book suggests that former President Joe Biden did not recognize actor George Clooney at a Democratic fundraiser in June 2024. Despite having known Clooney for years, the encounter reportedly left the actor concerned.
The book, titled “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,” was written by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’s Alex Thompson. It is based on interviews with over 200 Democratic insiders and discusses Biden’s alleged cognitive and physical decline during his last year in office.
An excerpt published in The New Yorker describes that when Biden attended the fundraiser co-hosted by Clooney and Julia Roberts, he seemed not to recognize Clooney. Upon meeting Clooney, Biden reportedly said, “Yeah, yeah. Thank you for being here,” not realizing he was speaking to one of the hosts.
An aide reportedly intervened, saying, “You know George.” After the aide identified him as George Clooney, Biden acknowledged him with, “Oh, yeah! Hi, George!”
The authors note that Clooney was “shaken to his core” by the interaction. A Hollywood VIP present at the event commented, “That thing, the moment where you recognize someone you know — especially a famous person who’s doing a fundraiser for you — it was delayed. It was uncomfortable.”
The book also claims Biden appeared “severely diminished” at the event, seemingly aged a decade since Clooney had last seen him in December 2022. Observers described Biden as “slow and almost catatonic,” with noticeable lapses and signs of mental decline.
Former President Barack Obama was also at the fundraiser and reportedly intervened several times. According to the book, when Biden spoke to a small group of donors and “trailed off incoherently,” Obama “jumped in and presided.” The authors noted Obama would also “hop in and finish sentences for him” during photo opportunities.
Less than a month after the alleged incident, on July 10, 2024, Clooney wrote an op-ed in The New York Times titled “I Love Joe Biden, But We Need a New Nominee.”
Clooney expressed his respect for Biden as a senator, vice president, and president, and as a friend. However, he stated that “the one battle [Biden] cannot win is the fight against time.”
In the op-ed, Clooney referred to the fundraiser, observing that the Biden he met at the event was not the same person from 2010 or even 2020.
The book reveals that before publishing his op-ed, Clooney consulted Obama, who suggested it might cause Biden to “dig in his heels deeper.” Clooney also shared the op-ed with Jeffrey Katzenberg, a media mogul and Democratic megadonor co-chairing Biden’s campaign. Katzenberg reportedly disagreed with Clooney’s view and doubted the op-ed’s effectiveness.
Despite this, Clooney published the op-ed, and 11 days later, Biden withdrew from the presidential race. In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Clooney described the op-ed as his “civic duty,” stating he felt compelled to speak out when he saw “people on my side of the street not telling the truth.”
Following Biden’s withdrawal, Clooney praised the former president for performing “the most selfless thing that anybody has done since George Washington.”
The Biden camp disputes the book’s claims. A spokesperson told PEOPLE, “We have not reviewed the book, and the authors did not fact-check the book with us, despite it being a common practice to do so.”
The spokesperson also stated they have not seen evidence of any situation where Biden was unable to make a presidential decision, risk national security, or fulfill his duties. Instead, they emphasized that evidence shows he was an effective president.
Joe and Jill Biden appeared on ABC’s “The View” on Thursday, May 8, and denied the claims about his cognitive decline. “The people who wrote those books were not in the White House with us, and they didn’t see how hard Joe worked every single day,” the former first lady stated.
Clooney’s spokesperson declined to comment on the excerpt.
“Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again” will be released on May 20, 2025.
