‘The View’s Joy Behar Jokes About Biden Not Recognizing George Clooney: ‘He Looks Different Lately’ (VIDEO)

Alyssa Norwin May 16, 2025, 11:57 am

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During the first “Hot Topics” segment on Friday’s (May 16) episode of The View, the panelists (sans Whoopi Goldberg) discussed the new book Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, which was written by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson.

Alyssa Farah Griffin brought up a shocking claim made in the book: Joe Biden didn’t recognize George Clooney at a June 2024 fundraiser the actor was co-hosting while the former president was running for a second term. Griffin expressed how flabbergasted she was by the story, which prompted Joy Behar to quip, “Well, he looks different lately.”

The audience roared in laughter, and Behar stood by her comment. “He does!” she confirmed.

Behar introduced the topic of the book by playing a video of Tapper admitting that it was tough for him to get Democrats to speak on the record. She also shared a montage of clips showing Democratic representatives avoiding questions about Biden’s term and insisting that they want to “look forward” instead.

“Are they beating a dead horse or what? Avoiding the issue will make people lose more interest in Democrats and the media,” Behar said.

DEMOCRATS QUESTIONED ABOUT REPORTS OF BIDEN DECLINE: ‘The View’ co-hosts weigh in as Democrats dodge bombshell book claims that party members shielded the public from concerns about Pres. Biden’s mental and physical fitness to serve another term. pic.twitter.com/rBlEBYz47Q

— The View (@TheView) May 16, 2025

Sara Haines then weighed in about what’s “really irked” her about the Democrats (she voted for Biden in 2020 and Kamala Harris). “People lost trust in them because the voters were saying there’s a concern,” Haines began. “There were people across the board saying they had a concern, and the Democrats said, ‘No, no, no, look over here.’ They told the voters what to care about, and they did not listen when voters said they cared. So these stories that come out aren’t about beating a dead horse, it’s saying, if they could have a fair conversation that, ‘We saw you,’ they’d be gaining some of the voters back to say, ‘Okay, we’re not going to keep saying that.'”

Sunny Hostin didn’t agree. “I think that I want to move on from why the Democratic party lost and I want to hear from the Democratic party how we are going to take our country back,” she explained. Behar played devil’s advocate, telling her cohosts, “I think Sara’s point is they have to admit what they did wrong before we can move onto that.”

George Clooney attends the unveiling ceremony for his Sardi's Caricature

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Farah Griffin then pointed out that Donald Trump‘s approval rating is 39%, while the Democratic Party’s is only 27%. “People feel gaslit and lied to,” she said, with Behar jumping in to add, “Part of that … the low rating for the Democrats, I think, partly, I may be making this up, is because they haven’t fought hard enough. Not because we’re so angry with the Democrats for being mad.”

“That may be part of it,” Farah Griffin acknowledged. “Seventy-seven percent of Americans in 2023 said Joe Biden was too old to run again. They were told, ‘Sit down, shut up, he is the nominee.’ Then, when it became untenable and he stepped aside, they anointed Kamala Harris. There was not a primary, there was not a democratic process. And then when she lost, they said, ‘Don’t look backwards, we’re not even going to talk about why we didn’t listen to you.'” Behar agreed that was “a mistake.”

Whoopi Goldberg Explains Her Illness Live on 'The View'

The women all praised Biden for “taking responsibility” for everything that happened under his tenure (he appeared on the show just last week and spoke to this).

When Ana Navarro got her chance to speak, she pointed out that she’s known Biden for years, and admitted that he’s not the “same man” she knew 25 or 30 years ago. However, she said, “What his spokespeople keep saying, ‘Was there any instance you can point to where his cognitive skill in performing the job as president was compromised?’ And they haven’t come up with that.” She also slammed campaign books where people speak anonymously and insisted that they should have the “gonads” to talk on the record.

DEMOCRATS QUESTIONED ABOUT REPORTS OF BIDEN DECLINE: ‘The View’ co-hosts weigh in as Democrats dodge bombshell book claims that party members shielded the public from concerns about Pres. Biden’s mental and physical fitness to serve another term. pic.twitter.com/rBlEBYz47Q

— The View (@TheView) May 16, 2025