In a surprising turn of events, actor George Clooney delivered an unexpected message to former President Donald Trump when asked about him. Clooney expressed, “I hope you succeed because our country needs it.”
Clooney was among a group of Hollywood stars who supported Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 elections after publicly halting his support for former President Joe Biden, according to The Daily Beast. Previously, Clooney had clashed with Trump, who labeled him a “fake movie star.”
During an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the 63-year-old actor discussed his reaction following the Democratic Party’s crushing defeat. Amid applause from the studio audience, he remarked, “Well, I don’t know, what am I supposed to do? Storm the Capitol?”
Without mentioning Trump by name, the Oscar winner added, “That’s good for you. I hope you succeed because our country needs it, and we’ll meet you in 3.5 years and see where we go from there.”
Clooney’s philosophical response may have surprised Democrats who were outraged by Trump’s series of moves to cut the federal budget, detain immigrants, and other controversial actions.
He elaborated, “That’s part of democracy. There are people who agree and disagree, and most of us still love each other, and we will get through this all.”
He continued, “I have a son who plays in chess tournaments because he loves it… He’s seven years old and plays against many older kids and doesn’t win all the time, as you can imagine… He gets upset, and I tell him, ‘Shake the man’s hand’… and that’s how you should live by those rules.”
Clooney confirmed that he “grew up a Democrat” in Kentucky. The actor raised a record $28 million for Joe Biden during a Hollywood event last June.
However, after writing an op-ed in The New York Times urging Biden to withdraw from the election, Clooney found himself in an online spat with Trump. The former president posted on Truth Social: “So, the fake movie star George Clooney, who has never come close to making a great movie, joins the scene… Clooney turned on Joe… What does Clooney know about anything? He should stay out of politics and get back to television. His movies never worked out.”
In response at that time, Clooney stated, “I will if he does… That’s a trade I would accept.”
