In a recent interview with Channel 5’s Andrew Callaghan, Hunter Biden lashed out at George Clooney for questioning his father's mental sharpness amid the 2024 presidential election. This public scrutiny occurred shortly before Joe Biden officially withdrew from the race, paving the way for Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.
Clooney’s intervention began during a charity event last summer, where he initially met Biden. He later expressed concerns in a New York Times op-ed, stating, “I Love Joe Biden. But We Need a New Nominee.” In this piece, he highlighted Biden's troubling performance in a debate, remarking that “we are not going to win in November with this president.”
In response, Hunter Biden accused Clooney of exaggerating his father's frailty and questioned the actor's motives. “They give him Ambien to be able to sleep. He gets up on the stage and he looks like he's a deer in the headlights,” he remarked, attempting to clarify the president’s performance as influenced by a demanding travel schedule and medication.
Reports from journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson suggested Biden appeared “severely diminished” during their meeting, not recognizing Clooney, a characterization Hunter rejected vehemently. “Clooney attempted to cut the knees out from a sitting president,” Hunter Biden remarked, provoking a pointed response aimed at Clooney's overrreach into political matters.
Moreover, Hunter implied that Clooney's motivations were tied to political disagreements, particularly regarding President Biden’s stance on Israel. Notably, Clooney’s wife, Amal, had advocated for a legal motion against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which Biden publicly dismissed.
Hunter also addressed the rumors concerning his involvement in White House meetings despite his legal troubles, clarifying, "I think I spent 12 days in the White House in the last two years of the administration." He reiterated the president's decision to grant him a pardon after his convictions for tax evasion and a weapons charge, issues that have lingered since his father’s first presidential campaign.
Despite these controversies, Joe Biden himself, in a prior BBC interview, reflected on his choice to exit the re-election race and dismissed the notion that an earlier withdrawal could have altered the election outcome. The narrative of Biden's health became a focal point after his prostate cancer diagnosis earlier this year, further stirring public discourse around his capability to serve.
