George Clooney singled out Wes Moore as an emerging Democratic leader who is “levitating” above others, saying that the Maryland governor could “be someone we could all join in behind.”
“He is the guy that has handled this tragedy in Baltimore beautifully,” Clooney told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “He had two tours of duty in Afghanistan, active duty. He speaks sort of beautifully. He’s smart. He ran a hedge fund. He ran the Robin Hood Foundation. He’s a proper leader.”
In an interview tied to his Broadway play “Good Night, And Good Luck,” based on his 2005 film, Clooney also had praise for Governor Andy Beshear (D-KY) and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI).
Tapper also asked Clooney about his New York Times op ed in July, when he called for President Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 race. Clooney cited Biden’s age and deterioration when he joined him for a Los Angeles fundraiser the previous month.
“It was a civic duty… I’m a Democrat, Democrat in Kentucky so I get it, [but] when i saw people on my side of the street not telling the truth, I thought that was time to,” Clooney said.
He said that people are still angry at him for the op ed.
“You can’t demand freedom of speech and then say, ‘But don’t say bad things about me, right? … If you believe it, take a stand, stand for it, and then deal with the consequences.”
Clooney also said that he thought it would have been better had there been a “mini-primary” after Biden ultimately dropped out. He said that Kamala Harris was weighed down by the unpopularity of the Biden administration.
“I think we have some really good governors, and I would have liked to have seen a … quick primary. I think we would have sustained it. [Harris} may have come out on top, I don’t know.”
Clooney said that Democrats “have to find somebody rather soon” as a key leadership voice, citing the way that Republicans are “running through government.”
“So it’s our job now to put together a proper team to stand up because we are right now polling very poorly,” he said.
