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Clooney’s America

The actor’s attack on Joe Biden was all about personal revenge.

George Clooney and Amal Clooney leave the Polo Bar in New York City on Dec. 14, 2023. Credit: James Devaney/GC Images.
George Clooney and Amal Clooney leave the Polo Bar in New York City on Dec. 14, 2023. Credit: James Devaney/GC Images.
Dr. Joseph Frager is chairman of Israel advocacy for the Rabbinical Alliance of America, chairman of the executive committee of American Friends of Ateret Cohanim and executive vice president of the Israel Heritage Foundation.

On July 11, actor, director and producer George Clooney was featured in The New York Times calling for a new Democratic nominee for president.

His credentials for an opinion piece in the newspaper that still claims to publish only “All the News That’s Fit to Print” are that “I have led some of the biggest fundraisers in my party’s history” and “last month I co-hosted the single largest fundraiser supporting any Democratic candidate ever, for President Biden’s reelection.”

George Clooney does himself in when he writes, “We don’t anoint leaders or fall sway to a cult personality; we vote for a president.”

Everybody’s entitled to their opinion, but when did America stoop to the level that actors who live in an alternate universe become the voice of reason and morality? After all, who are the real cult personalities if not actors and actresses? This is sheer hypocrisy. If actors and actresses are the new guiding lights, America is in deep trouble. The more credibility given to them, the more dangerous the world becomes.

George Clooney gave several reasons for wanting his “friend” Biden replaced. First, he is worried that “We are not going to win in November with this president. On top of that, we won’t win the House, and we’re going to lose the Senate.”

The second reason is that Clooney misled a lot of people three weeks before at his massive fundraiser and was trying to save face. Many of Clooney’s associates are likely mad that he took their money and Biden followed up with his debate meltdown.

The third reason is that George Clooney got into a major spat with Biden over the International Criminal Court’s recent decision to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Clooney’s wife Amal had a fairly large role in that decision. Biden is reported to have told Clooney that what the ICC did was “outrageous.” It is likely that Clooney, in an attempt to defend his wife from well-deserved criticism, decided to turn the tables on Biden. The Times op-ed is his revenge.

Biden issued a statement shortly after the ICC ruling: “The United States does not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and there is no equivalence between Israel and Hamas.”

Clooney must have been furious at Biden over this statement, which completely nullified Amal Clooney’s work and rendered it irrelevant. If Clooney wants to be the Democratic nominee for president someday, he should do a much better job of understanding foreign policy. Clooney’s America won’t cut it.

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