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George Clooney exploded on MSNBC producer after Mika Brzezinski linked Obama to dramatic Biden op-ed: report

George Clooney exploded on MSNBC producer after Mika Brzezinski linked Obama to dramatic Biden op-ed: report

Yahoo04-04-2025

Actor George Clooney reportedly lost his temper on an MSNBC producer working on "Morning Joe" after host Mika Brzezinski suggested that former President Barack Obama may have influenced Clooney to write his New York Times op-ed on former President Joe Biden.
Clooney called on Biden to leave the 2024 race in a New York Times guest essay in July 2024, just weeks after raising millions for the Democratic candidate.
The explosive confrontation between an unnamed MSNBC producer and Clooney was revealed by Biden biographer Chris Whipple in his forthcoming book, "Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History."
George Clooney Admits Media 'Dropped The Ball' On Covering Biden's Incapacities
Independent journalist Tara Palmeri published an excerpt of the book containing the confrontation on her Substack, "The Red Letter," on Thursday.
The "Morning Joe" segment that led to Clooney losing his cool featured Brzezinski suggesting that Obama may have been behind the actor's NYT op-ed calling for Biden to bow out of the 2024 presidential race.
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"This wasn't George Clooney," Brzezinski claimed, later adding: "I think that Barack Obama has a lot of influence."
These claims led to Clooney calling a producer for the show in a rage, according to Whipple's account.
"How the f--- could you let her link me with Barack Obama saying he made me write the op-ed?" Clooney allegedly shouted at the "Morning Joe" producer.
George Clooney Says He Dropped Support For Biden After Seeing Him Up Close, Condemns Democratic 'Cowardice'
After the producer denied any involvement, Clooney reportedly screamed at the producer again, questioning his loyalty.
"You f----- me… You're my friend. You should have stood up for me," Clooney allegedly shouted at the producer, Whipple claimed in the book.
The producer then fired back at the actor, according to Whipple, replying, "George, this is not a f------ movie. There's no script. It's just not a movie where you go script page to script page."
"F--- you!" Clooney replied, followed by the producer telling the actor, "F--- yourself!"
According to Whipple's account of the confrontation, the first phone call between the two ended there, before Clooney called back to continue his tirade against the producer.
The producer did not hold back on the A-list actor, telling him: "This is a morning talk show on a cable channel. Nobody gives a f--- if we say he should get out or if he should stay in. Nobody f------ cares. It's skywriting. It's f------ gone. George, I told you before, we'll try and take care of it tomorrow morning. I promise you."
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Clooney again questioned the producer's loyalty to him.
"I don't know whether I trust you," Clooney replied.
This apparently did not sit well with the "Morning Joe" producer, who once again gave the actor a piece of his mind.
"Well f--- you," the producer replied, according to Whipple, adding, "If you don't trust me, stop f------ calling me."
Clooney conceded during a February interview that the media failed in its coverage of Biden's fitness and ability to serve.
Clooney told The New York Times' Maureen Dowd that Biden was irresponsible in covering up his "incapacities," and added, "the media, in many ways, dropped the ball."
Reacting to a moment when former President Obama led Biden off the stage at a Los Angeles fundraiser in June 2024, Clooney said, "I saw him for hours a year earlier at the Kennedy Center, and I saw someone much less sharp."
Dowd wrote that the experience left Clooney "gobsmacked."
Parties representing MSNBC and George Clooney did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Fox News' Kristine Parks and Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.Original article source: George Clooney exploded on MSNBC producer after Mika Brzezinski linked Obama to dramatic Biden op-ed: report

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Escalating ICE raids pull California Democrats back into immigration fight
Escalating ICE raids pull California Democrats back into immigration fight

Politico

time44 minutes ago

  • Politico

Escalating ICE raids pull California Democrats back into immigration fight

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Bernie Sanders: Trump moving US 'into authoritarianism' after troops sent to LA
Bernie Sanders: Trump moving US 'into authoritarianism' after troops sent to LA

USA Today

timean hour ago

  • USA Today

Bernie Sanders: Trump moving US 'into authoritarianism' after troops sent to LA

Bernie Sanders: Trump moving US 'into authoritarianism' after troops sent to LA Show Caption Hide Caption Trump orders troops to LA as agents, protesters clash over immigration President Trump ordered 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles to combat violent protesters opposed to immigration enforcement. WASHINGTON − Progressive firebrand Sen. Bernie Sanders said he believes President Donald Trump is 'moving this country rapidly into authoritarianism" after Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard troops to help quell immigration protests in Los Angeles. 'This guy wants all of the power. He does not believe in the Constitution. He does not believe in the rule of law. My understanding is that the governor of California, the mayor of the city of Los Angeles did not request the National Guard, but he thinks he has a right to do anything he wants,' Sanders, a Vermont independent, told CNN's Dana Bash on 'State of the Union.' The protests come as the Trump administration has taken stronger actions to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants. Demonstrators allege the administration's immigration enforcement has violated civil and human rights. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement on June 7 that Trump signed a memo deploying the guardsmen 'to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester.' Both California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, however, have criticized the move, saying it would only escalate tensions in the area. 'I would say that to a large degree, the future of this country rests with a small number of Republicans in the House and Senate who know better, who do know what the Constitution is about, and it's high time they stood up for our Constitution and the rule of law,' Sanders said. Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin, meanwhile, defended the president's move to Bash, arguing that the situation is not under control. The Department of Homeland Security said that some protesters have hurled large chunks of broken concrete at officers, slashed tires and defaced buildings. Video footage of some of the protests showed dozens of green-uniformed security personnel with gas masks, lined up on a road strewn with overturned shopping carts as small canisters exploded into gas clouds. 'The president has made it very clear. If the governor or the mayor of the city isn't willing to protect the citizens of his state or the city, then the president will. The American people elected him to restore the law and order back to our streets," Mullin said. Contributing: Reuters

Trump wields little-used law to deploy National Guard to LA riots despite Gov. Newsom's protests: ‘Unable to handle the task'
Trump wields little-used law to deploy National Guard to LA riots despite Gov. Newsom's protests: ‘Unable to handle the task'

New York Post

timean hour ago

  • New York Post

Trump wields little-used law to deploy National Guard to LA riots despite Gov. Newsom's protests: ‘Unable to handle the task'

President Trump has ordered the California National Guard to secure Los Angeles from the anti-ICE rioters, despite the vocal objections of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass. It's the first time in 60 years that the commander-in-chief deployed a state's National Guard without the governor's blessing, and members of the Trump administration are saying the move is justified because the protests represent a 'violent insurrection' against the country. 'This is a violent insurrection,' White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller posted Saturday night. Vice President JD Vance also used the word in describing the riots: 'Insurrectionists carrying foreign flags are attacking immigration enforcement officers, while one half of America's political leadership has decided that border enforcement is evil,' he said on X. California Democrats seethed over the rare move from a US president. The last time the National Guard was federalized in Los Angeles was in 1992 over the Rodney King riots, when the president had the state's backing. 5 Rioters wreaked havoc on Los Angeles in response to immigration enforcement activity in the area. REUTERS 'The federal government is sowing chaos so they can have an excuse to escalate. That is not the way any civilized country behaves,' Newsom said on X. The rarely used power stems from '10 U.S.C. 12406,' part of the US Code on Armed Services that allows the federal government to mobilize the National Guard in the event of 'a rebellion, or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.' 'The federal government is taking over the California National Guard and deploying 2,000 soldiers in Los Angeles — not because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle,' Newsom added in another X post. 'Don't give them one. Never use violence. Speak out peacefully.' Bass, who previously put out a statement blasting the ICE arrests of illegal migrants in Los Angeles, said she tried to convince Trump's border czar Tom Homan not to put the National Guard on the streets. 'I'm very concerned about the potential civil unrest if there was federal intervention,' she told KNX radio. But Trump rebuked California's leaders over the riots in a Truth Social post in the wee Sunday morning hours. 'We have an incompetent Governor (Newscum) and Mayor (Bass) who were, as usual (just look at how they handled the fires, and now their VERY SLOW PERMITTING disaster. Federal permitting is complete!), unable to … handle the task,' he wrote. 5 President Trump has lashed out at California Democrats over the chaos. POOL/AFP via Getty Images President Lyndon B. Johnson, in 1965, was the last commander in chief to federalize a state's National Guard without the governor's OK. In that instance, the troops were deployed to protect civil rights protesters in Alabama. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Saturday that the National Guard deployment was justified because the protests were interfering with ICE agents who were trying to combat a 'dangerous invasion' that was spurred by 'foreign terrorist organizations' — referencing the Mexican traffic cartels that have been designated terror groups by the Trump administration. 'The violent mob assaults on ICE and Federal Law Enforcement are designed to prevent the removal of Criminal Illegal Aliens from our soil; a dangerous invasion facilitated by criminal cartels (aka Foreign Terrorist Organizations) and a huge NATIONAL SECURITY RISK,' he wrote. He added the US Marines from Camp Pendleton in San Diego were being stood up for possible deployment. Newsom called the possibility of using active duty troops against American citizens, 'deranged.' 'Deranged = allowing your city to burn & law enforcement to be attacked,' Hegseth shot back. Meanwhile, Homan told NBC News that 'someone is going to lose their life' in the protests and suggested that Newsom and Bass could be referred to the Justice Department for criminal charges over their handling of the riots. 5 Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass hit back at President Trump's claim about the National Guard reining in the mayhem. AP 5 California Gov. Gavin Newsom accused the Trump administration of deliberately inflaming the situation. REUTERS National Guard troops were seen arriving in Los Angeles County earlier in the day on Sunday. Newsom dredged up an old clip of Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem warning former President Joe Biden against federalizing the National Guard to prevent Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) from using the troops to secure the border. Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.), whose congressional district encompasses Paramount, claimed that local law enforcement has the situation 'under control' and doesn't need assistance from the National Guard. 5 Rep. Nanette Barragán claims that local law enforcement has gotten the riots under control. AP 'I have spoken to the sheriffs on the ground, who have said they have things under control, there is no need for the National Guard, they have the manpower that they need,' she told CNN's 'State of the Union' Sunday. 'This is really just an escalation of the president coming into California. We haven't asked for the help. We don't need the help. This is him escalating it, causing tensions to rise,' she continued. 'It's only going to make things worse.'

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