George Clooney joins $28 million Hollywood fundraiser for Biden following White House row over Amal's job

George Clooney appears to have mended fences with President Joe Biden as he and compatriot Julia Roberts joined a star-studded Hollywood. fundraising gala Saturday night, which raised $28 million.

The event, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, took place at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, with a capacity of 7,100 people. Kimmel moderated a discussion with Biden and former President Barack Obama, where the three took turns blasting Biden's presumptive 2024 opponent, Donald Trump.

Clooney's presence came after he called the White House earlier this month to reprimand Biden for his reaction to an announcement by the International Criminal Court that it would seek arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leaders over the brutal devastation of Gaza. Clooney is married to Amal Clooney, an international human rights lawyer, who served on a panel that agreed to recommend the filing of the arrest warrants.

The glitzy event was a rare moment in which Obama used the opportunity to firmly present his case against his Trump.

Look, part of what's happened in recent years is that we have normalized behavior that used to be disqualified, said the former Democratic president. The other spectacle of the candidate of one of the two major parties is to appear in court and be found guilty by a jury of his peers on 34 counts. You have his foundation, it's not allowed to operate because it was engaging in monkey business and wasn't actually philanthropic. This organization was prosecuted for non-payment of taxes.

He added: There was a time when we had certain core values ​​that we agreed with. We believed in fundamental honesty. We believed in paying your taxes. We believed that we had to make sure not to make fun of [prisoners of war]that we did not seek to politicize our military, that we respected the vote.

Biden joined in, mocking Trump over his Covid-era suggestion that sunlight or cleaners containing bleach could somehow be used to combat the virus in the human body, a suggestion made during a White House press conference in early 2020 attended by top federal health experts.

Remember the pandemic, he said: “Don't worry, just inject a little bleach,” Biden reminded the audience. The president then quipped: It worked for him, the color of his hair.

Biden also adopted a more serious tone in laying out the issues at stake in the election: the idea [that] he threatens retaliation. This is the United States of America. Have you ever thought you'd hear something like this?

Joining the president and Obama was a long list of stars, including Barbra Streisand, Abbott Elementary School Sheryl Lee Ralph, comedian Keegan Michael-Key and actors Jason Bateman and Kathryn Hahn. Personalities from the Creative Artists Agency (CAA), which represents major sports and media figures, were also present.

The Biden family itself has also come forward. Recently convicted Hunter Biden and his sister Ashley Biden were in attendance, as was the president's granddaughter Naomi. California's Democratic political establishment was also in attendance, including Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

The event was screened by the Bidens campaign having brought the presidents' team at least $28 million. This is the second major fundraiser held by the Biden campaign this year, following a previous event held at New York's Radio City Music Hall in March. That event raised about $26 million for the president's campaign, sparking the Trump campaign to launch a similar megadonor event at Mar-a-Lago in April.

The ex-president raised just over $50 million, according to the Trump team, but it is unclear whether he will be able to repeat the performance. Many of his donations are being undermined by his mounting legal bills, compounded by his conviction on 34 counts in New York last month. He has vowed to fight the guilty verdict in an appeal process that is likely to be both lengthy and costly.