Is George Clooney 'furious' with Barack Obama?

The equation between former US President Barack Obama and Hollywood actor George Clooney has grown increasingly strained.

This is especially after President-elect Donald Trump registered a historic victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in the election held on November 5 .

According to Sky News, Clooney is “now complaining that Obama who sort of manipulated him into doing the dirty work on his behalf has left him to take most of the blame for the election loss.”

Let’s take a closer look.

Is George Clooney ‘angry’ with Barack Obama?

Clooney, a Democrat, was a major contributor to outgoing President Joe Biden’s fundraising efforts.

However, in the end, he played a key role in his withdrawal from the race for president.

In a sharply written opinion piece published in July, Clooney questioned the 81-year-old leader’s suitability for the job in light of the president’s poor debate performance against his Republican rival.

The article claimed it would not be possible for Biden to win the head-on-head competition against Trump.

“It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate,” the actor wrote in his opinion piece, offering the names of several contenders including Harris.

“Was he tired? Yes. A cold? Maybe. But our party leaders need to stop telling us that 51 million people didn’t see what we just saw.”

Reports claim that Clooney publicly asked that Biden withdraw from the campaign in the article after receiving instructions from former President Obama.

The actor is now reportedly unhappy with Obama for “manipulating” him.

Why does he feel ‘duped’?

The Midnight Sky star is furious with Obama since his opinion article is widely seen as a fatal blow to Biden’s hopes of winning reelection. The decision also led him to choose Kamala Harris for the race instead.

A report by Ok! Magazine said, “Obama and Clooney have been tight for years, and George became Barack’s surrogate in leading the charge for Joe to step away.”

An insider told the magazine, “George is furious with Obama for disappearing after the election disaster and leaving him holding the bag for pushing the plan with his Hollywood pals.”

The source said Obama knew “he would look like a traitor” if he had called for Biden to step aside himself, so he convinced Clooney instead and is now “walking away” from the debacle.

Following Trump’s win, critics slammed Clooney for his involvement in Biden’s exit from the campaign.

“I wish he never opened his mouth. Joe should not have been talked down. Yeah I’m mad at everyone who convinced Joe to go. He would have beat him again,” said a netizen on X.

A learning lesson?

After Harris’ loss, Clooney felt “duped,” the source told OK! Magazine, and he has vowed never to be someone is a “political water boy” again, stating that “George feels he stepped up and took a bullet for the team.”

Prior to Biden’s departure, Clooney organised a successful, celebrity-filled event for him in June. But after Biden’s dismal debate performance against Trump, which raised questions about his age and mental health, things took a turn for the worst.

“I love Joe Biden. As a senator. As a vice president and as president. I consider him a friend and I believe in him. Believe in his character. Believe in his morals… But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time,” Clooney said.

2024 US Presidential election

Faced with a sweeping rejection by American voters, Kamala Harris conceded the presidential election to Trump on Wednesday, November 6.

She trailed in every battleground state to Trump, a Republican whom she described as an existential danger to the country’s foundational institutions.

And Trump appeared on track to win the popular vote for the first time in his three campaigns for the White House — even after two impeachments, felony convictions and his attempt to overturn his previous election loss.

With inputs from agencies