Devastated Democrats have rounded on George Clooney after the actor demanded that Joe Biden quit before Donald Trump’s election victory.
A furious blame game has erupted in the wake of Trump’s emphatic win over rival Kamala Harris, with lifelong Democrat Clooney being especially criticised for his influence during the election.
The Ocean’s Eleven actor, 63, notably penned an op-ed for the New York Times in July where he called on Biden, 81, to abandon his presidential campaign, writing: ‘We are not going to win in November with this president.’
Clooney later praised Biden for being ‘selfless’ when he announced he would be stepping aside on July 21, leaving Kamala Harris to embark on a 107-day campaign to try and overcome Trump.
That campaign came to a bitter end on Wednesday as Trump secured a stunning comeback to the White House. He currently holds 295 electoral votes and is also winning the popular vote.
Democrats have since sought to blame Clooney for calling on Biden to step down from the presidential race months earlier.
George Clooney, 63, has been slammed by fans after he demanded that Joe Biden quit ahead of Donald Trump’s election victory. Pictured: Clooney and his wife Amal in New York on September 26
Kamala Harris delivers a speech at Howard University, where she conceded the 2024 presidential race
Trump made a stunning return to the White House with a convincing win over Harris. He is pictured declaring his victory early on Wednesday morning
Back in July, Clooney notably penned an op-ed for the New York Times where he demanded Biden to drop out of the presidential race; seen in October in Washington D.C
A veteran-led, political commentator group called altNOAA typed on X, ‘Someone bring me George Clooney. We need to have a…talk.’
Journalist Joshua Hartley uploaded a screenshot of Clooney’s op-ed piece and added, ‘Thank you George Clooney.’
One X user penned, ‘Trump should not forget to thank the Hollywood celebrities. Especially George Clooney.’
A fan of Donald Trump also referenced to the actor, and wrote, ‘It’s just occurred to me, we have failed to acknowledge George Clooney’s roll in this victory!’
‘What did George Clooney change his mind!!’ another fan shared, possibly referencing to the actor’s silence on social media following Trump’s win on Tuesday.
Another added on X, ‘I blame George Clooney he said no more money… and now look…’
‘Since I’m in a deep depression and feel like lashing out at someone, what’s the plan now George Clooney?’ one social media user typed out, while another simply added, ‘It’s all George Clooney’s fault!’
It comes as the blame game went into overdrive last night, as Biden confidants told senior White House reporters they hold former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi responsible for him leaving the race.
‘Bidenworld’ sources claim that not only should the president have stayed in the race but that he would have won the white working class voters who Harris largely ceded to Trump.
The claim that Pelosi got him out of the race is comparable to how Biden blames Barack Obama for demanding he not run in 2016 against Hillary Clinton.
However, there was also a sense of treachery within the president’s ranks, as sources told
Senior White House correspondent Kayla Tausche that he himself ‘was more deeply unpopular than anyone grasped.’
Other Democrat insiders have blamed Tim Walz for being too left wing, too folksy, and too tainted by the Kenosha riots, while others blamed every demographic possible.
Not enough white women showed up, too many black men switched to Donald Trump since 2020, and Hispanic voters abandoned the party.
Media analysts also speculated Biden should have pulled the plug on his candidacy well before his disastrous debate performance.
This would have either given Harris more time to establish herself, or allowed for an open primary to select a stronger candidate, they argued.
Kamala Harris departs the stage after conceding the election during a speech at Howard University
Democrats were left distraught by the election result which will see Trump return to power. Pictured: A student in tears at Howard University
However, after months of campaigning from both parties, Donald J. Trump became the U.S. 47th president-elect after a major victory – currently holding 292 electoral votes and also winning the popular vote; seen in September in New York
A veteran-led, political commentator group called altNOAA typed on X, ‘Someone bring me George Clooney. We need to have a…talk’
Journalist Joshua Hartley uploaded a screenshot of Clooney’s op-ed piece and added, ‘Thank you George Clooney’
One X user penned, ‘Trump should not forget to thank the Hollywood celebrities. Especially George Clooney’
A fan of Donald Trump also referenced to the actor, and wrote, ‘It’s just occurred to me, we have failed to acknowledge George Clooney’s roll in this victory!’
It comes as a professor at New York University named Laurence F. Maslon opened up to The Guardian about the role of celebrity endorsements – including from Clooney.
‘I think endorsements have probably always done more for the celebrity than the person being endorsed.’
Maslon added: ‘It’s a way to hitch your star to somebody who seems to be good for you, and maybe there’s a certain kind of reflected glory in that.’
‘There’s probably not a Republican candidate for any office in the last 20 years who didn’t append the word liberal before the word Hollywood when speaking about it…People like George Clooney and Robert De Niro, I mean, who cares, frankly?’
Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, Will Ferrell and even Arnold Schwarzenegger were among those to endorse Harris. Meanwhile, Trump was backed by the likes of Elon Musk, Kanye West, Hulk Hogan and Mel Gibson.
Margaretha Bentley, a professor at Arizona State University, also told the outlet, ‘In the academic literature, research has shown that, while celebrity endorsements can increase civic engagement and voter registrations, it has not proven to have a direct impact on how people make their voting decisions.’
She also added, ‘Voters may do more research after a celebrity endorses, but they will vote based on their own values and not necessarily the values of the celebrity endorser.’
Clooney’s backlash has come just months after he wrote an op-ed calling for President Joe Biden to step aside.
He also first threw his support behind Harris in July – only two weeks after he said it was time to move on from Biden in the scathing article for the New York Times.
‘President Biden has shown what true leadership is. He’s saving democracy once again,’ he said in a statement to CNN, two days after Biden made the extraordinary decision to drop out of the race.
He also first threw his support behind Harris in July – only two weeks after he said it was time to move on from Biden in the scathing article for the New York Times; Harris seen on Wednesday in Washington D.C.
He endorsed the Vice President to succeed him as the Democratic nominee to take on Trump, saying: ‘We’re all so excited to do whatever we can to support Vice President Harris in her historic quest.’
Biden had faced an increasingly frenzied clamor to step aside after a disastrous debate performance against Trump in June.
Less than a month before he dropped out of the race, Clooney had raised $30million at a fundraiser for Biden.
However, the megastar, who hosted multiple fundraisers for Biden, wrote on July 10 that the president couldn’t win the ‘battle against time.’
The brutal opinion piece was seen as one of the turning points against Biden’s bid to cling onto the nomination in a bid to secure a second term.
The actor condemned Democratic party leaders for ignoring ‘every warning sign’ of Biden’s declining physical and mental health and for trying to defend his car-crash debate performance against Trump.
However, the megastar, who hosted multiple fundraisers for Biden, wrote on July 10 that the president couldn’t win the ‘battle against time’; seen in 2023 in L.A.
He added that Democrat voters ‘collectively hold our breath or turn down the volume whenever we see the president, who we respect, walk off Air Force One or walk back to a mic to answer an unscripted question.’
And earlier this month ahead of the election, the actor doubled down on his endorsement of Kamala Harris in a campaign advertisement urging men to consider how voting for Donald Trump will affect the women in their lives.
The ad, released by left-wing Christian organization Vote Common Good, reminded men that they can lie to their Trump supporting friends about how they voted.
And it also urged them to think about how their vote will ‘impact the people you care about the most’ before casting their ballots.
The first ad, starring Clooney’s Ocean’s Eleven co-star Julia Roberts, urged women to keep their votes secret from their husbands and was branded ‘nauseating’ and ‘condescending’ by critics
The clip followed a father and his masculine-looking friends into the polls as they encourage each other to ‘make America great again.’
Clooney – who narrates the short video – then urged voters to think about their families and reminds them that ‘you can vote any way you want and no one will ever know’ before the man is seen voting for Harris.’
The ad is the second released by Vote Common Good that encourages voters to hide their choices from their families or friends.
The first ad, starring Clooney’s Ocean’s Eleven co-star Julia Roberts, urged women to keep their votes secret from their husbands and was branded ‘nauseating’ and ‘condescending’ by critics.
Questions continue to be asked over the Democrats’ downfall as they prepare to transfer the power to the Republicans.
President-elect Trump has been revelling in his victory, partying at Mar-a-Lago with campaign aides, celebrities and family members.
The 78-year-old was serenaded by two women as he celebrated his election victory last night.
Donning his signature red Make America Great Again (MAGA) cap, he grinned and tapped along as the Natasha Owens song ‘Trump Won’ was played over the speakers and belted out to him by guests.
Alina Habba, Trump’s famous attorney, and another female campaign aide were seen jubilantly throwing their hands in the air and doting over the election winner, who was sat down with them enjoying what appeared to be a glass of Coke.
One of the woman could be seen dancing and pointing at Trump as she tried to get the crowd going, while Ms Habba leaned forward to tell him something while brushing his arm.
As the song came to an end with the lyrics ‘Everybody knows Trump won!’, the Republican winner joined in by tapping his fingers on the dining table where the three were sat.
The Florida estate was filled with excitement as Trump continued to ride a wave of capturing swing states throughout the evening.
Images emerged from the estate early in the evening of Trump chatting with Elon Musk and Dana White, while guests shared snaps from its ballroom.
The race initially appeared neck-and-neck as Americans went to the polls after a tense months-long build-up.
Democrats had been counting on holding the trio of states – Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania – to give Harris the White House. Biden won them in 2020.
But in the end Harris didn’t improve upon President Joe Biden’s performance against Trump four years ago.
Harris is now on track to do worse than Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.
She could even be on pace to have the worst Electoral College result of any Democrat since the 1988 race.
Exit polls show his victory came after he made gains with nearly every voting bloc he lost in the 2020 election and put together a coalition of multi-ethnic working-class voters.
And Harris did worse on Tuesday than Biden in the 2020 contest among key voting groups including women, the working class and Latinos.
Biden, who watched the astonishing results from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue on Tuesday night, is also planning to address the nation on Thursday.
He said he talked to President-elect Trump today and invited him to the White House after the final results rolled.
In a shock olive branch, the 81-year-old commander-in-chief congratulated Trump a week after calling his supporters ‘garbage’.
The White House confirmed Biden and Trump spoke on the phone on Wednesday afternoon and ’emphasized the importance of working to bring the country together’ as well as a ‘smooth transition’.
It was a similar tone Kamala Harris took when she called Trump to to finally concede the election after Trump swept the majority of the swing states.
Trump and Biden frequently exchanged very personal jabs during the campaign, with the Republican targeting the president’s decline and the Democrat saying he was the sort of person he would like to ‘smack in the a**’.
Biden has said he will go to Trump’s inauguration, after the president-elect skipped his in 2020 and instead flew straight to Mar-a-Lago.
Harris had a warning for the president-elect, lecturing him even as she congratulated him.
‘She discussed the importance of a peaceful transfer of power and being a president for all Americans,’ a senior Harris aide said.
Harris, during her campaign, repeatedly vowed to a be a president ‘for all Americans.’
Trump will begin the process of choosing a cabinet and selecting other high-ranking administration officials in the coming weeks following his victory. He is set to take office on January 20.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
