George Clooney Against the White House

Can this working friendship survive reported sanction threats and a scathing Times op-ed?

In an op-ed in the New York Times on Wednesday, tequila magnate and actor George Clooney wrote that President Joe Biden should not run as the Democratic nominee in 2024. “I love Joe Biden,” Clooney wrote. “But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time.”

Clooney may know a thing or two about this: If anyone is winning the battle against time, it is him. But by joining the whimpering chorus of Democrats calling for Biden to step aside after his disastrous debate performance, Clooney is taking on a noted grudge-holder in Joe Biden. Their relationship has been a little tense for a couple months now.

Before May, Clooney was in lockstep with the Biden campaign, bundling millions for his effort in 2020 — as he did for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama (a friend) before him. But two months ago, Amal Clooney, the esteemed human-rights lawyer who happens to be the actor’s wife, sat on a review board that essentially greenlit the International Criminal Court prosecutor’s decision to apply for a warrant to charge Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant with war crimes over the invasion in Gaza. (A recent calculation by The Lancet puts the civilian death toll in Gaza at around 186,000 people, roughly 8 percent of the territory’s population.) As the administration supplying Israel with its munitions to carry out the war, the Biden camp wasn’t thrilled by this action, coming from an international body that the U.S. is not even a party to. White House officials called the decision an “overreach,” while Secretary of State Antony Blinken reportedly told Republican senator Lindsey Graham he would “welcome working with you” on sanctioning ICC members.

With the prospect of his wife facing sanctions by the U.S. government, the Washington Post reported that Clooney texted Biden fundraiser and adviser Steve Ricchetti to express his concerns — and hinted that his support of the president was not unconditional. It appears that the beef was partially resolved: In June, Clooney hosted a star-studded event for Biden’s reelection that raised $28 million. But after Oldgate, Clooney went in on just the issues. “Is it fair to point these things out?” Clooney asked in his op-ed. “It has to be. This is about age. Nothing more.”

With presidential powers at an all-time high, thanks to the Supreme Court, we would advise that Clooney does not take any unchaperoned drives upstate anytime soon.