George Clooney had plenty to say about the U.S. president during his appearance on 60 Minutes, and, as expected, Donald Trump wasted no time firing back. The former president dismissed the Ocean’s Eleven star as a “second-rate movie ‘star’ and failed political pundit.”
During the Sunday night broadcast, Clooney expressed concerns over increasing government interference in journalism, a sentiment that didn’t sit well with Trump.
Clooney has been making the rounds promoting his latest project, a Broadway adaptation of Good Night and Good Luck—a film he originally wrote and directed in 2005. The story follows journalist Edward R. Murrow, who found himself in the crosshairs of Senator Joseph McCarthy during the anti-communist hysteria of the 1950s.
“When the other three estates fail—when the judiciary, the executive, and the legislative branches falter—the fourth estate must prevail,” Clooney asserted, emphasizing the crucial role of the press.
He also pointed to recent media controversies, saying, “ABC just settled a lawsuit with the Trump administration, and CBS News is in the middle of one. We’re witnessing an effort to use the government as a tool to intimidate and diminish journalists.”
“Governments have never been fond of a free press,” Clooney continued. “It doesn’t matter if they lean left, right, or center—the press is always a thorn in their side.”
Trump, never one to back down from a public spat, took to Truth Social to slam Clooney. He accused the actor of first backing Joe Biden, only to later “dump him like a dog” after publishing an op-ed in The New York Times calling for Biden to step aside.
“Then, under what I assume were orders from the Obama camp, he went all-in for ‘Kamala,’ only to quickly realize that wasn’t going to pan out too well,” Trump added.