Claim:
George Clooney called for U.S. President Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race after raising $14 million for his campaign weeks earlier.
Rating:
Mostly True ( About this rating? )
What's True:
On June 15, 2024, George Clooney reportedly raised a significant sum for Biden's campaign at a fundraising event held in Los Angeles. On July 10, The New York Times published an opinion piece by Clooney in which he wrote: "Top Democrats … need to ask this president to voluntarily step aside."
What's False:
However, the amount of money raised at the L.A. fundraiser was at least $30 million, according to news reports, not $14 million.
In July 2024, several social media posts claimed that Academy Award-winning actor George Clooney, who has referred to himself as a "lifelong Democrat," called for U.S. President Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race after raising $14 million weeks earlier for Biden's reelection campaign. These claims were widely shared and discussed online.
For example, on June 11, 2024, an X post said of Clooney, "But you still raised $14M for him and didn't say a word until after the debate disaster. Go back to your castle in Italy."
Another X post claimed that "George Clooney, having helped Joe Biden raise $14m a couple of weeks ago, now seems to be trying very hard to kill off his bid for re-election." This post included a link to a New York Times guest essay written by Clooney and published July 10, 2024:
The claim that Clooney raised $14 million for Biden's campaign at a June 15 fundraiser is inaccurate, at least in terms of the amount of money raised.
The high-profile fundraising event at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles, attended by Clooney and featuring appearances by celebrities such as Julia Roberts and Barbra Streisand, actually raised a reported $30 million-plus for Biden's reelection campaign, according to news reports.
Per NBC News : "The Biden campaign announced on Saturday that the event had raised $28 million, which they said broke fundraising records for the party. Funds continued flowing in, bringing the final fundraiser haul to more than $30 million, a campaign official said Sunday."
It appears social media users conflated the sum Clooney raised at the L.A. event with a statement from the Biden campaign itself, which announced that it had reportedly raised $14 million on June 27, 2024, the day of the first U.S. presidential debate, and the following morning.
We reached out to Clooney's team for confirmation of the amount raised at the Los Angeles fundraiser. We will update this fact check if we receive a response.
We also spoke with a member of staff at the Federal Election Commission, who told us federal election records do not typically provide a breakdown of contributions from a specific fundraising event or party. The FEC requires candidates and committees to report contributions received, but these reports generally aggregate contributions by donor and do not specify the particular gathering at which the contributions were raised.
In the spirit of campaign finance transparency, the nonprofit organization OpenSecrets tracks financial contributions from individual donors, including Clooney, who doesn't appear to have made any campaign donations in 2024, according to that platform. OpenSecrets did not supply data on the amount raised at Clooney's fundraising event at the Peacock Theater.
Clooney's New York Times Opinion Piece
In Clooney's July 10 opinion piece, he expressed his concerns about Biden's viability as a candidate for the 2024 presidential election, based on his weak performance at the televised presidential debate in June.
Clooney argued that while he deeply respects Biden's achievements and leadership, he believes the Democratic Party needs a younger and more vigorous candidate to defeat the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump. Clooney suggested that Biden, who is 81, is exhibiting signs of decline and should "save democracy" in 2024 by allowing for another Democratic presidential nominee:
As Democrats, we collectively hold our breath or turn down the volume whenever we see the president, whom we respect, walk off Air Force One or walk back to a mic to answer an unscripted question.
…
This is about age. Nothing more. But also nothing that can be reversed. We are not going to win in November with this president. 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. Every single one, irrespective of what he or she is saying publicly.
…
It is disingenuous, at best, to argue that Democrats have already spoken with their vote and therefore the nomination is settled and done, when we just received new and upsetting information. We all think Republicans should abandon their nominee now that he's been convicted of 34 felonies. That's new and upsetting information as well. Top Democrats — Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, Nancy Pelosi — and senators, representatives and other candidates who face losing in November need to ask this president to voluntarily step aside.
Clooney did participate in a significant fundraising event for Biden's reelection campaign, which ultimately raised a reported $30 million-plus — a lot more than the rumored $14 million — and he did subsequently write an op-ed expressing concerns about Biden's presidential candidacy. Therefore, we rate this claim as "Mostly True."
Snopes has previously reported on campaign donations, including a fact check about Nike donating three times more to Republicans than Democrats during the 2018 federal election cycle.
Sources:
"Actor George Clooney, a High-Profile Biden Supporter and Fundraiser, Asks President to Leave Race." AP News , 10 July 2024, https://apnews.com/article/george-clooney-joe-biden-presidential-race-2024-2419c5a66aac55a5f3cda1e676e6ffde .
"Biden Campaign Rakes in $28 Million Ahead of Star-Studded Los Angeles Fundraiser." NBC News , 16 June 2024, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/biden-campaign-rakes-28-million-ahead-star-studded-los-angeles-fundrai-rcna157371 .
"Biden Campaign Says Raised $14m on Debate Day and the Morning After." Reuters , 28 June 2024. www.reuters.com , https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-campaign-says-raised-14m-debate-day-morning-after-2024-06-28/ .
"Clooney and Roberts Help Biden Raise $30 Million-plus at a Star-Studded Hollywood Gala." AP News , 15 June 2024, https://apnews.com/article/biden-hollywood-fundraiser-clooney-roberts-ukraine-summit-40081471c93faa68de5c4aa30455303b .
Clooney, George. "Opinion | George Clooney: I Love Joe Biden. But We Need a New Nominee." The New York Times , 10 July 2024. NYTimes.com , https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/10/opinion/joe-biden-democratic-nominee.html .
"Contribution Limits." FEC.Gov , https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/candidate-taking-receipts/contribution-limits/ . Accessed 15 July 2024.
Donor Lookup . July 16, 20024, https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?name=George+Clooney&order=desc&sort=D .
Instagram . https://www.instagram.com/bravenewfilms/p/C9QHLO7JEIc/ . Accessed 15 July 2024.
"X.Com." X (Formerly Twitter) , https://x.com/angusparvo/status/1811365926429765867 . Accessed 15 July 2024.
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