Tapper and Thompson report on what happened at the now-infamous Hollywood fundraiser that helped prompt actor George Clooney to write an influential op-ed against Biden’s reelection bid. According to the excerpt of the book published in The New Yorker, when Biden arrived at the party, his visible frailty stunned attendees, including Clooney, whom Biden didn’t seem to recognize even though they had known each other for years. Here’s the book’s account of that awkward exchange:
“Thank you for being here,” the President said to guests as he shuffled past them. “Thank you for being here.” Clooney felt a knot form in his stomach as the President approached him. Biden looked at him. “Thank you for being here,” he said. “Thank you for being here.”
“You know George,” the assisting aide told the President, gently reminding him who was in front of him. “Yeah, yeah,” the President said to one of the most recognizable men in the world, the host of this lucrative fund-raiser. “Thank you for being here.”
“Hi, Mr. President,” Clooney said.
“How are ya?” the President replied.
“How was your trip?” Clooney asked.
“It was fine,” the President said.
It seemed clear that the President had not recognized Clooney.
“It was not O.K.,” recalled the Hollywood V.I.P. who had witnessed this moment. “That thing, the moment where you recognize someone you know—especially a famous person who’s doing a fucking fund-raiser for you—it was delayed. It was uncomfortable.”
“George Clooney,” the aide clarified for the President.
“Oh, yeah!” Biden said. “Hi, George!”
“Clooney was shaken to his core,” Tapper and Thompson write.
