Actor and director George Clooney, a supporter of Hillary Clinton's presidential bid, broke ranks over campaign financing on Saturday to condemn the "obscene" sums of money in U.S. politics and praised Clinton's chief political rival in the process.
Actor George Clooney attends a news conference to promote the movie
'Hail, Caesar!' at the 66th Berlinale International Film Festival in
Berlin, Germany February 11, 2016. REUTERS/Stefanie Loos/Files
WASHINGTON: Actor and director George Clooney, a supporter
of Hillary Clinton's presidential bid, broke ranks over campaign
financing on Saturday to condemn the "obscene" sums of money in U.S.
politics and praised Clinton's chief political rival in the process.
Clooney made the remarks in an interview with NBC News'
"Meet The Press" the day after he and his wife, Amal, hosted a
fundraiser on Democratic Party hopeful Clinton's behalf Friday night
with a price tag of up to US$353,400 per couple.
"We had some protesters last night when we pulled up in San
Francisco and they're right to protest. They're absolutely right. It is
an obscene amount of money," Clooney said in excerpts released on
Saturday. The interview will air on Sunday.
Bernie Sanders, a U.S. Senator from Vermont and Clinton's
rival in the race for the Democratic nomination to run for the White
House in the Nov. 8 election, has pounced on former secretary of state
Clinton over the big-ticket event and for accepting large sums of money
for her campaign.
"The Sanders campaign when they talk about it is absolutely
right. It's ridiculous that we should have this kind of money in
politics. I agree completely," Clooney said.
In response to the dinner, the Sanders campaign on Friday
evening sent out an email to supporters asking them to help reach their
fundraising goals by chipping in US$3.53 apiece, instead.
(Reporting by Alana Wise; editing by Grant McCool)
- Reuters
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