When Biden Forgot Clooney’s Face—And Everyone Pretended Nothing Was Wrong

On a warm June night in 2024, backstage at a glittering Hollywood fundraiser, George Clooney stood waiting to greet the man he had flown across the country to support. A familiar face, a longtime ally. But when President Joe Biden emerged from his motorcade, worn from a transatlantic trip to the G7 summit in Italy, something unsettling happened. Clooney smiled, extended his hand, but Biden did not recognize him.

"You know George," an aide said gently, hoping to bridge the awkward silence.

"Yeah, yeah," Biden replied, vague and unfocused, his eyes drifting, his voice distant.

For Clooney, one of the most recognizable actors in the world and a major Democratic fundraiser, the encounter was chilling. It wasn’t just jet lag. It was something deeper, more permanent. And within weeks, he would publish a blistering op-ed in The New York Times, urging the man he once campaigned for to step aside. Behind that call was a fear many in the Democratic Party had long harbored and kept quiet.

Now, nearly a year later, Original Sin, a new book by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson, lays bare what was whispered in corridors and denied at the podiums: the President of the United States was in decline, physically, cognitively, and politically. And those around him, from aides to family members, chose silence over confrontation, loyalty over truth. The result was a re-election campaign built on willful delusion, ending in political catastrophe.

This is the inside story of how a presidency lost its footing, how a party lost its voice, and how the consequences are still rippling through American democracy.

The Gait That Gave It Away

President Biden’s halting walk had become a matter of national curiosity by mid-2023, exacerbated by a highly publicized fall over a sandbag at the Air Force Academy. Behind closed doors, it triggered panic. Tapper and Thompson reveal that internal White House discussions centered on one uncomfortable contingency: Would Biden need a wheelchair if he won a second term?

Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s longtime physician, quietly raised alarms about the toll the presidency was taking on the octogenarian’s spine. He clashed with political aides who prioritized optics over rest. "They’re trying to kill him," he quipped darkly to colleagues. For O’Connor, the risks were real — another bad fall could require prolonged wheelchair use. For the White House, that image was politically untenable.

So staffers adjusted. Stairs were replaced with ramps. Handrails were installed. Sneakers replaced dress shoes. Choreographed walkthroughs were mandatory before events. And despite a supposedly healed 2020 foot fracture, aides publicly clung to it as an excuse for the stiffened gait, even though O’Connor had previously declared it healed.

In reality, the issue was spinal arthritis. And it was progressing.

The Cocoon

The book’s title, Original Sin, is as much about Biden’s decision to run for a second term as it is about the inner circle that enabled it. Tapper and Thompson describe the president’s tight-knit advisers , Steve Ricchetti, Anita Dunn, Ron Klain, as a kind of political “Politburo,” shielding him from dissent and denying concerns even to themselves.

According to the authors, very few officials were willing to risk political exile by speaking candidly. When Hollywood super-agent Ari Emanuel raised concerns with Klain in 2023, it devolved into a shouting match. Bill Daley, former Obama chief of staff, tried to draft governors like Gavin Newsom and JB Pritzker into mounting a primary challenge. None bit.

Even as Biden forgot the names of longtime aides like Mike Donilon, Jake Sullivan, and Kate Bedingfield, even as he confused George Clooney with a stranger and mistook Cabinet members, there was no formal intervention. Staff meetings were scripted. Off-the-cuff moments were minimized. Those who saw him at private events reported shock at his frailty, “nothing but bones,” said David Morehouse, a Democratic operative-turned-hockey executive.

Still, no one close to power went on the record. Silence, not scheming, was the cover-up.

The First Lady’s Firewall

Jill Biden looms large in Original Sin, portrayed as both protector and gatekeeper. According to the book, her senior aide Anthony Bernal could quash any discussion of the president’s age with a single line: “Jill isn’t going to like this.”

The First Lady's loyalty never wavered. When a donor suggested Joe should not run in 2022, she later told aides, “I can’t believe I didn’t defend Joe.” That protectiveness evolved into active involvement in key decisions as his stamina waned. To critics, this devotion blinded her to the political realities or at least muted any willingness to confront them.

Behind the scenes, there was no shortage of concern. What was missing was someone willing to say it publicly.

The Breaking Point

The moment that shattered the façade came on June 27, 2024. The debate against Donald Trump was a disaster. Biden appeared dazed, unfocused, and at times, unable to finish sentences. The performance stunned even those who had grown accustomed to his ups and downs. Democratic operatives watching from green rooms and campaign offices knew instantly: the campaign was over.

Within weeks, the pressure mounted. Clooney’s op-ed landed like a grenade. Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Hakeem Jeffries, and Chuck Schumer reportedly had a “Plan B” in place. Three weeks after the debate, Biden withdrew from the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. It was too late.

Harris would go on to lose the election to Donald Trump.

A Party Unwilling to Speak

One of the book’s most damning revelations is not about Biden, but about the Democratic Party’s refusal to confront the obvious. Even after the campaign’s collapse, many of the 200 sources interviewed insisted on anonymity. Fear of offending Biden, his family, or his most loyal aides remained pervasive.

“It wasn’t just Biden,” David Plouffe told the authors. “It’s all of us who let this happen.”

In trying to avoid a difficult conversation, Democrats may have allowed a crisis to deepen and a winnable election to slip away.

The Reckoning Ahead

As Biden reemerges in interviews to defend his legacy, the wounds inside his party remain raw. With the 2028 contest ahead and calls for generational change growing louder, the question lingers: Who will have the courage to speak when it matters next time?

Original Sin is a chronicle of decline. But more than that, it's a meditation on power, denial, and the high cost of silence. It reveals the fragility of the presidency, the danger of unquestioned loyalty, and the human truth that even the most powerful among us cannot outrun time.

CNN and NYT contributed to this article.