Clooney for 2020 president?
Speculating about an Oprah presidential bid in the US is so last month. The celebrity whose 2020 plans everyone is suddenly interested in: George Clooney.
The actor prompted a fresh round of speculation about his possible political ambitions when he announced via Twitter that he and his wife, human rights attorney Amal Clooney, would be donating US$500,000 to the gunrights march being held March 24, and would participate in the protest.
The March For Our Lives gun control rally will be led by student organisers in the wake of the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Media mogul Oprah Winfrey, who has been the subject of intense speculation following a fiery, politically tinged Golden Globes speech, followed with a tweet saying she’d match the Clooney’s big gift.
Cue the sirens. ‘‘CLOONEY 2020 VISION? OPRAH TEAMS WITH GEORGE’’ was the all-caps headline blaring across the Drudge Report, an American conservative, right-wing news aggregation website, with a link to the Hill newspaper’s story about the twin donations.
But the echo chamber was already noisy.
Even Fox News host Sean Hannity hyped the possibility, expressing his mock support for a possible Clooney bid during his Tuesday afternoon radio show. ‘‘My attitude is, ‘Run, George, run,’’’ said Hannity, who is an outspoken backer of US President Donald Trump, Clooney’s ostensible rival.
And hey, while we’re at it, why not widen the field? Director Steven Spielberg and wife Kate Capshaw said that they, too, would match the Clooneys’ donation.
Film producer Jeffrey Katzenberg and his wife, Marilyn, also said they would put up US$500,000.
And although he hasn’t pledged to open his wallet, Justin Bieber tweeted his support for the march. So ... Bieber 2020? Never mind, he’s Canadian. And not old enough.