The pile-on of President Joe Biden by the pretty people in Hollywood may have finally snared the biggest defector to lead the masses in exodus from endorsements and glitzy fundraisers. Oscar-winning actor George Clooney joined in with a chorus of public denouncements of the elder statesman as Biden digs in his sneakers, demanding that people continue supporting his re-election efforts.
Hollywood is using a passive-aggressive approach: Begin with love and then let the hammer drop. “I love Joe Biden. As a senator. As a vice president and as president,” Clooney penned in an op-ed piece for The New York Times. “But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time.”
That message has not trickled down to the president and his handlers. “I’m running the world,” Biden claimed on ABC before refusing any in-depth neurocognitive test.
They All Knew
America has witnessed the physical and mental decline of the candidate and that he simply can’t pull off a second win against Donald Trump now seems obvious to many. For all his troubles and detractors, Trump appears to be physically capable of walking – including both up and down steps – without relying on aides or his wife to guide him or fill in the awkward gaps in any pregnant pause. The media, Hollywood, and elected Democrats did what they had been scripted to do: They used orchestrated soundbites and phrases repeatedly supporting the president, write checks, and fundraise.
Behind the fresh and refreshed faces of stars and starlet activists are guys like “Lost” co-creator Damon Lindelof – a lifelong Democrat who has millions to spend and has donated to the campaigns of President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and President Joe Biden. Lindelof went to the source of news for celebrity types and penned an op-ed calling for others to boycott Biden.
“The checks give us access to power, and it is power that is needed to persuade our pitcher to come out of the game because, dammit, even four runs down with the bases loaded and no outs, he still feels like he’s got good stuff. And so, I propose a DEMbargo. No checks written. No ActBlue links clicked. For anyone.”
Field of bad dreams aside, he isn’t the only one gluing the wallet shut. Disney heir Abigail Disney said she is on board with a DEMbargo until Biden is replaced. Netflix’s co-founder Reed Hastings, who has been very generous to the point of 20-plus million for Democratic causes, is also trying to devise a plan B so the money flows once again.
The deafening chorus only began after the debate. But they all knew what their candidate could and could not do long ago. Ask Mr. Clooney:
“It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fundraiser 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.”
Biden vs the DEMbargo
Rob Reiner of “Meathead” fame joined in with his pal George: “We acknowledge all he has done for our country. But Democracy is facing an existential threat. We need someone younger to fight back. Joe Biden must step aside.”
Stephen Colbert is out, filmmaker Michael Moore is squirming, and actor John Cusack has echoed the rebel yell of revolution against candidate Joe. Biden’s once-friendly detractors are finished clutching pearls and taking a stand against the foe of a lifetime, in their eyes, Donald Trump. They all keep parroting the message that Biden cannot win in November. Clooney went further, “On top of that, we won’t win the House, and we’re going to lose the Senate. This isn’t only my opinion; this is the opinion of every senator and Congress member and governor who I’ve spoken with in private.”
The concept of a DEMbargo, as Lindelof has called for, could devastate candidates at all levels. Would Joe Biden selfishly remain on the ticket and allow those critical races to be lost?
Clooney concluded his plea to Biden: “Joe Biden is a hero; he saved Democracy in 2020. We need him to do it again in 2024.”
