Joe Biden Didn’t Recognize George Clooney at 2024 Fundraiser

Joe Biden failed to recognize George Clooney at a 2024 fundraiser the actor hosted for the then-president in Los Angeles during his presidential campaign -- this according to a new book dropping next week.

The shocking detail comes from the forthcoming book -- titled "Original Sin" by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson -- in which they write an aide had to remind Joe who George was right in front of him, according to an excerpt obtained by the New Yorker.

Before coming face-to-face with GC ... Jake and Alex describe Joe as appearing "severely diminished, as if he’d aged a decade since Clooney last saw him in December 2022."

When the pair greeted each other, the assistant reportedly tried helping Joe, noting ... "You know George." When it became "clear" Joe had no idea who was standing in front of him, the assistant added his last name ... to which Joe reportedly responded, "Oh, yeah! Hi, George!"

A witness told Jake and Alex the situation was "uncomfortable" and "not OK" -- especially considering George was hosting the lucrative event for the former president.

Of course, we all know what happened next. The fundraiser was in June 2024, and just a few weeks later in July, George would call on Joe to drop out of the 2024 presidential election.

Joe announced the withdrawal of his presidential candidacy on July 21.

Though just last week ... he said he's not surprised Kamala Harris lost the presidential election and thinks he could have beaten Donald Trump.

In their book, Jake and Alex write a scathing review of how Biden and his inner circle handled his apparent "decline," writing ... "Until the last day of his Presidency, Biden and those closest to him refused to admit the reality that his energy, cognitive skills, and communication capacity had faltered considerably. Even worse, through various means, they tried to hide it."