George Clooney is standing by his much-discussed op-ed, where he made the case that Joe Biden needed to stand down as the 2024 Democratic nominee for president. The New York Times piece originally ran on July 10, 11 days before Biden officially dropped out of the 2024 Presidential race and his Vice President Kamala Harris took his place.
During an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, the reporter noted that many people called Clooney’s decision “brave.”
“I don’t know if it was brave. It was a civic duty,” Clooney said in response. “I’m a Democrat in Kentucky, so I get it. When I saw people on my side of the street not telling the truth, I thought that was time to…”
“Are people still mad at you for that?” Tapper then questioned.
“Some people, sure. That’s OK. Listen, the idea of Freedom of Speech — the specific idea of it — is you can’t demand Freedom of Speech and then say, ‘But don’t say bad things about me,’” the actor explained. “That’s the deal. You have to take your stand if you believe in it. Take a stand, stand for it and then deal with the consequences. That’s the rules.”
Clooney further stated that people have criticized him over his stance on the invasion of Iraq, a move that led to many picketing his movies and some on the Right putting his face on a deck of “weasel” playing cards. “I have to take that, that’s fair,” he said.
CNN teased the first part of its interview with Clooney on Tuesday night. The full interview will air at a later date.
During his 2024 op-ed, Clooney emphasized that he has been a longtime supporter of Biden and that he considers the politician to be a friend. However, he argued that due to his age, Biden was no longer the politician he once was. This op-ed contributed heavily to the growing chorus of Democrats opposed to Biden running in the 2024 election, which eventually led to Harris taking over the ticket.
