George Clooney Singles Out Wes Moore As Top Democratic Prospect, Says That Op-Ed Urging Joe Biden To Exit Race Was His 'Civic Duty'
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.'
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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.
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Hamilton Spectator
28 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
As legal fight over Guard deployment plays out, Noem vows to continue Trump's immigration crackdown
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem pledged to carry on with the Trump administration's immigration crackdown despite waves of unrest across the U.S. Hours after her comment Thursday, a judge directed the president to return control to California over National Guard troops he deployed after protests erupted over the immigration crackdown, but an appeals court quickly put the brakes on that and temporarily blocked the order that was to go into effect on Friday. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals scheduled a hearing on the matter for Tuesday. The federal judge's temporary restraining order said the Guard deployment was illegal and both violated the Tenth Amendment and exceeded President Donald Trump's statutory authority. The order applied only to the National Guard troops and not Marines who were also deployed to the LA protests. The judge said he would not rule on the Marines because they were not out on the streets yet. Gov. Gavin Newsom who had asked the judge for an emergency stop to troops helping carry out immigration raids, had praised the order before it was blocked saying 'today was really about a test of democracy, and today we passed the test' and had said he would be redeploying Guard soldiers to 'what they were doing before Donald Trump commandeered them.' White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said the president acted within his powers and that the federal judge's order 'puts our brave federal officials in danger. The district court has no authority to usurp the President's authority as Commander in Chief.' The developments unfolded as protests continued in cities nationwide and the country braced for major demonstrations against Trump over the weekend. 'This is only going to continue,' DHS chief says of raids Noem said the immigration raids that fueled the protests would move forward and agents have thousands of targets. 'This is only going to continue until we have peace on the streets of Los Angeles,' she said during a news conference that was interrupted by shouting from U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, a California Democrat who was forcibly removed from the event . Newsom has warned that the military intervention is part of a broader effort by Trump to overturn norms at the heart of the nation's democracy. He also said sending Guard troops on the raids has further inflamed tensions in LA. So far the protests have been centered mostly in downtown near City Hall and a federal detention center where some immigrants are being held. Much of the sprawling city has been spared from the protests. On the third night of an 8 p.m. curfew, Los Angeles police arrested several demonstrators who refused orders to leave a street downtown. Earlier in the night, officers with the Department of Homeland Security deployed flash bangs to disperse a crowd that had gathered near the jail, sending protesters sprinting away. Those incidents were outliers. As with the past two nights, the hours-long demonstrations remained peaceful and upbeat, drawing a few hundred attendees who marched through downtown chanting, dancing and poking fun at the Trump administration's characterization of the city as a 'war zone.' Elsewhere, demonstrations have picked up across the U.S., emerging in more than a dozen major cities. Some have led to clashes with police and hundreds have been arrested. Noem calls action in LA a blueprint The immigration agents conducting the raids in LA are 'putting together a model and a blueprint' for other communities, Noem said. She pledged that federal authorities 'are not going away' even though, she said, officers have been hit with rocks and bricks and assaulted. She said people with criminal records who are in the country illegally and violent protesters will 'face consequences.' 'Just because you think you're here as a citizen, or because you're a member of a certain group or you're not a citizen, it doesn't mean that you're going to be protected and not face consequences from the laws that this country stands for,' she said. Noem criticized the Padilla's interruption, calling it 'inappropriate.' A statement from her agency said the two met after the news conference for about 15 minutes, but it also chided him for 'disrespectful political theater.' Padilla said later that he was demanding answers about the 'increasingly extreme immigration enforcement actions' and only wanted to ask Noem a question. He said he was handcuffed but not arrested. 'If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question, I can only imagine what they are doing to farmworkers, to cooks, to day laborers throughout the Los Angeles community,' he said. Military involvement escalates in LA The administration has said it is willing to send troops to other cities to assist with immigration enforcement and controlling disturbances — in line with what Trump promised during last year's campaign . Some 2,000 Guard soldiers were in the nation's second-largest city and were soon to be joined by 2,000 more, along with about 700 Marines, said Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman, who is in charge of the operation. About 500 of the Guard troops deployed to the Los Angeles protests have been trained to accompany agents on immigration operations , Sherman said Wednesday. The Guard has the authority to temporarily detain people who attack officers, but any arrests must be made by law enforcement. States face questions on deploying troops With more demonstrations expected over the weekend , and the possibility that Trump could send troops to other states for immigration enforcement, governors are weighing what to do . Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, has put 5,000 National Guard members on standby in cities where demonstrations are planned. In other Republican-controlled states, governors have not said when or how they may deploy troops. A group of Democratic governors earlier signed a statement this week calling Trump's deployments 'an alarming abuse of power.' Hundreds arrested in LA protests There have been about 470 arrests since Saturday, the vast majority of which were for failing to leave the area at the request of law enforcement, according to the police department. There have been a handful of more serious charges, including for assault against officers and for possession of a Molotov cocktail and a gun. Nine officers have been hurt, mostly with minor injuries. ___ Rodriguez reported from San Francisco and Seewer from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press writers Julie Watson in San Diego, Jesse Bedayn in Denver, and Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas, and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed. Error! 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Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
As legal fight over Guard deployment plays out, Noem vows to continue Trump's immigration crackdown
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem pledged to carry on with the Trump administration's immigration crackdown despite waves of unrest across the U.S. Hours after her comment Thursday, a judge directed the president to return control to California over National Guard troops he deployed after protests erupted over the immigration crackdown, but an appeals court quickly put the brakes on that and temporarily blocked the order that was to go into effect on Friday. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals scheduled a hearing on the matter for Tuesday. The federal judge's temporary restraining order said the Guard deployment was illegal and both violated the Tenth Amendment and exceeded President Donald Trump's statutory authority. The order applied only to the National Guard troops and not Marines who were also deployed to the LA protests. The judge said he would not rule on the Marines because they were not out on the streets yet. Gov. Gavin Newsom who had asked the judge for an emergency stop to troops helping carry out immigration raids, had praised the order before it was blocked saying 'today was really about a test of democracy, and today we passed the test" and had said he would be redeploying Guard soldiers to 'what they were doing before Donald Trump commandeered them.' White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said the president acted within his powers and that the federal judge's order 'puts our brave federal officials in danger. The district court has no authority to usurp the President's authority as Commander in Chief." The developments unfolded as protests continued in cities nationwide and the country braced for major demonstrations against Trump over the weekend. 'This is only going to continue,' DHS chief says of raids Noem said the immigration raids that fueled the protests would move forward and agents have thousands of targets. 'This is only going to continue until we have peace on the streets of Los Angeles,' she said during a news conference that was interrupted by shouting from U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, a California Democrat who was forcibly removed from the event. Newsom has warned that the military intervention is part of a broader effort by Trump to overturn norms at the heart of the nation's democracy. He also said sending Guard troops on the raids has further inflamed tensions in LA. So far the protests have been centered mostly in downtown near City Hall and a federal detention center where some immigrants are being held. Much of the sprawling city has been spared from the protests. On the third night of an 8 p.m. curfew, Los Angeles police arrested several demonstrators who refused orders to leave a street downtown. Earlier in the night, officers with the Department of Homeland Security deployed flash bangs to disperse a crowd that had gathered near the jail, sending protesters sprinting away. Those incidents were outliers. As with the past two nights, the hours-long demonstrations remained peaceful and upbeat, drawing a few hundred attendees who marched through downtown chanting, dancing and poking fun at the Trump administration's characterization of the city as a 'war zone.' Elsewhere, demonstrations have picked up across the U.S., emerging in more than a dozen major cities. Some have led to clashes with police and hundreds have been arrested. Noem calls action in LA a blueprint The immigration agents conducting the raids in LA are 'putting together a model and a blueprint' for other communities, Noem said. She pledged that federal authorities 'are not going away' even though, she said, officers have been hit with rocks and bricks and assaulted. She said people with criminal records who are in the country illegally and violent protesters will 'face consequences.' 'Just because you think you're here as a citizen, or because you're a member of a certain group or you're not a citizen, it doesn't mean that you're going to be protected and not face consequences from the laws that this country stands for," she said. Noem criticized the Padilla's interruption, calling it "inappropriate.' A statement from her agency said the two met after the news conference for about 15 minutes, but it also chided him for 'disrespectful political theater.' Padilla said later that he was demanding answers about the 'increasingly extreme immigration enforcement actions' and only wanted to ask Noem a question. He said he was handcuffed but not arrested. 'If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question, I can only imagine what they are doing to farmworkers, to cooks, to day laborers throughout the Los Angeles community,' he said. Military involvement escalates in LA The administration has said it is willing to send troops to other cities to assist with immigration enforcement and controlling disturbances — in line with what Trump promised during last year's campaign. Some 2,000 Guard soldiers were in the nation's second-largest city and were soon to be joined by 2,000 more, along with about 700 Marines, said Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman, who is in charge of the operation. About 500 of the Guard troops deployed to the Los Angeles protests have been trained to accompany agents on immigration operations, Sherman said Wednesday. The Guard has the authority to temporarily detain people who attack officers, but any arrests must be made by law enforcement. States face questions on deploying troops With more demonstrations expected over the weekend, and the possibility that Trump could send troops to other states for immigration enforcement, governors are weighing what to do. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, has put 5,000 National Guard members on standby in cities where demonstrations are planned. In other Republican-controlled states, governors have not said when or how they may deploy troops. A group of Democratic governors earlier signed a statement this week calling Trump's deployments 'an alarming abuse of power.' Hundreds arrested in LA protests There have been about 470 arrests since Saturday, the vast majority of which were for failing to leave the area at the request of law enforcement, according to the police department. There have been a handful of more serious charges, including for assault against officers and for possession of a Molotov cocktail and a gun. Nine officers have been hurt, mostly with minor injuries. ___ Rodriguez reported from San Francisco and Seewer from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press writers Julie Watson in San Diego, Jesse Bedayn in Denver, and Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas, and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Analysis-Trump's 'peacemaker' pledge takes big hit as Israel strikes Iran
By Gram Slattery and Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) -On the campaign trail, U.S. President Donald Trump promised to end the world's hottest conflicts and usher in global peace, but nearly five months in, with Israel attacking Iran and bloodshed in Gaza and Ukraine unabated, those hopes are in shambles. U.S. ally Israel struck dozens of Iranian targets in a dramatic and multi-faceted attack on Thursday that analysts say threatens to eventually spiral into an all-out regional war. The strikes appear to be a snub to Trump, who had repeatedly pushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to attack Iran, though the president himself had threatened to bomb the Gulf nation if nuclear talks failed. "Trumpian diplomacy is one of the first casualties of these attacks," said Brett Bruen, a former foreign policy adviser to Democratic President Barack Obama. "He has struggled to even get close to a ceasefire (in Gaza), let alone peace in any major conflict. Iran was looking the most promising - and Netanyahu just spoiled it." The White House, the Israeli embassy in Washington and Iran's U.N. mission did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The strikes are also a rebuke of Steve Witkoff, Trump's Middle East envoy and close aide, who has been working intensively with Iranian negotiators towards a diplomatic solution to curb its nuclear program. Witkoff had sought unsuccessfully to persuade Netanyahu to remain patient while U.S.-Iran negotiations proceeded. Those talks have been deadlocked. Some Trump allies privately acknowledge that his diplomatic efforts had been faltering even before Israel's attack. His second term in office started with what seemed like a foreign policy win. Shortly before Trump's inauguration, Witkoff worked with aides to then-President Joe Biden to secure a long-sought ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas militants. But that accord fell apart in weeks. The U.S. has also made little discernible progress toward a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, whose conflict Trump vowed to end before even taking office. And his administration has taken no visible steps toward expanding the Abraham Accords, a landmark pact brokered in Trump's first term to forge diplomatic ties between Israel and several Arab neighbors. "SPIRAL OF ESCALATION" As Trump has struggled to seal peace accords, foreign policy divisions have opened inside his own administration. Dozens of officials, from the National Security Council to the Pentagon to the State Department, have been jettisoned amid the infighting. Even before Israel's attack, several administration officials had begun to privately question if Witkoff, who lacks diplomatic experience but has emerged as Trump's top negotiator, had overstayed his welcome. As Israel's attacks unfolded on Thursday, some prominent Democrats expressed frustration that Trump had scrapped during his first term a deal between the United States, Iran and European allies forged during the Obama administration. Trump and Republicans had condemned that deal, saying it would not have kept a nuclear bomb out of Tehran's hands. Democrats fault Trump for not yet coming up with a credible alternative. "This is a disaster of Trump and Netanyahu's own making, and now the region risks spiraling toward a new, deadly conflict," Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said in a post on X. Whether Thursday's strikes will trigger a regional conflict remains unclear. Even so, analysts said, Tehran could see U.S. assets in the region as legitimate targets. For example, Tehran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen could resume their bombing campaign against ships transiting the Red Sea. Also unclear is Israel's ability to permanently impede Iran's nuclear program. Analysts doubt in particular the ability of Israel to destroy Iran's Fordow enrichment plant, which is buried deep underground. While Israel could probably do extensive damage, experts say a more lasting blow would require U.S. military assistance, which U.S. officials said was not provided. Another question mark is just how effectively Tehran can respond. Israel has indicated that it has targeted several Iranian leaders in the bombing campaign, which is expected to continue in coming days. All these factors will decide if the blow to Trump's aspirations to be seen as a global peacemaker will be a terminal one, or merely a setback. "If Israel is to be taken at its word that tonight's strikes were the first round in an all-out Israeli campaign against Iran's nuclear and missile programs, Iran's regime is now knee-deep within a potentially existential, life-or-death moment," said Charles Lister, head of the Syria Initiative at the Middle East Institute. "That paints tonight's strikes in a whole new, unprecedented light and makes the risk of a major spiral of escalation far more real than what we've seen play out before."
