'The View' Host Joy Behar Slams Clooney's Public Rebuke of Biden: "He Has to Write an Op-ed Piece?"

The View co-host Joy Behar, on Thursday, condemned George Clooney over his recent New York Times op-ed that urged President Joe Biden to end his reelection bid. The actor's piece sparked controversy in political circles and even upset political opponent Donald Trump who deemed him to be a 'rat' as Clooney has a long history of supporting Democrats. Behar didn't mince words and stated, "George Clooney, couldn't he tell him that in person for God's sake? He has to write an op-ed piece?"

Her irritation was obvious as she questioned Clooney's decision to express his concerns publicly rather than individually with the president. The op-ed in question saw Clooney expressing his concerns about Biden's fitness for office. The actor wrote, "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."

Behar's critique extended beyond Clooney's method of communication. She highlighted Biden's economic achievements, which she felt were conspicuously absent from the actor's piece. "Trump, a convicted felon, is neck and neck with a man who saved the economy. The World Bank said last month that the U.S. economy under Biden is boosting up the entire global economy right now. Why doesn't George Clooney mention that in his op-ed piece?" Behar questioned.

The discussion on The View also touched on comments made by Jon Favreau, a former Obama White House speechwriter and Pod Save America co-host, as per HuffPost. Favreau recounted his wife's reaction after a recent Biden fundraiser. "I remember my wife, Emily, turned to me after the fundraiser and said, what are we going to do?" 

Co-host Sunny Hostin also agreed with Behar's sentiments. "I don't like that George Clooney did this. I don't like that George Clooney aired this dirty laundry to the world," Hostin remarked. She emphasized, “I think these conversations are happening, I think they should be happening because our democracy is at stake, but they should be happening privately with the Commander-in-Chief, who we should have the utmost respect for.”

However, not all of Behar's co-hosts felt the same. Alyssa Farah Griffin offered a counterpoint, stating, "Joe Biden's feelings don't matter more than our country." She argued, "This is not the media, this is not a narrative, these are Democrats, lifelong, who want to defeat Trump and who know how to win races, saying that Joe Biden cannot win as things are going. It’s top Obama advisors, top Clinton advisors, the biggest, most prolific democratic fundraiser, George Clooney — these are people who want to see Donald Trump defeated. They’re not doing this for fun or sport, they want to see Joe Bien do better," as per Variety.