Upcoming publication details concerning interaction that reportedly left Hollywood star “shaken to his core”
Former President Joe Biden failed to recognize actor George Clooney during a crucial fundraising event in the final month of his 2024 presidential campaign, according to explosive allegations detailed in a forthcoming book.
An excerpt from “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again” describes a troubling backstage interaction where Clooney greeted Biden only to find the president appearing “severely diminished, as if he’d aged a decade since the actor last saw him in December 2022.”
“He was taking tiny steps and had an aide guiding him by his arm,” write the authors in an excerpt published Tuesday by the New Yorker, as reported by CNN.
Concerning interaction caught attention of multiple witnesses
The fundraiser occurred in June 2024, immediately following Biden’s return from a three-day trip to Italy for the G7 conference. According to the book, as Biden made his way through greeting various attendees, an aide apparently had to prompt him during his interaction with Clooney.
“You know George,” the assisting aide reportedly told the President.
“Yeah, yeah,” Biden responded to “one of the most recognisable men in the world,” according to the account. “Thank you for being here.”
“It seemed clear that the President had not recognised Clooney,” the authors state. “It wasn’t a straight line of decline; he had good days and bad. But until the last day of his presidency, Biden and those in his innermost circle refused to admit the reality that his energy, cognitive skills, and communication capacity had faltered significantly. Even worse, through various means, they tried to hide it.”
Hollywood reaction and wider concerns
The encounter reportedly left Clooney, who had known Biden for years, deeply disturbed. “It was not okay,” recalled another unidentified Hollywood VIP who witnessed the interaction. “That thing, the moment where you recognise someone you know – especially a famous person who’s doing a f**king fundraiser for you – it was delayed. It was uncomfortable.”
The authors claim Clooney wasn’t alone in his concerns following the event. “Other high-dollar attendees who posed for photographs with Obama and Biden described Biden as slow and almost catatonic. Though they saw pockets of clarity while watching him on television and onstage later that night, there were obvious brain freezes and clear signs of a mental slide. It was, to some of them, terrifying.”
Book promises additional revelations
The book, authored by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson, reportedly contains additional troubling details, including discussions among Biden aides about whether the president might need a wheelchair if reelected, and efforts to shield him from certain staff members to conceal his alleged frailties.
Based on more than 200 interviews—primarily with Democratic insiders conducted after the 2024 election—the book is scheduled for release on May 20.
The White House has not yet issued a formal response to these allegations.
