George Clooney Taunts Trump in Response to Ex-President’s “Get Out of Politics” Remark
George Clooney has a taunting offer for former President Donald Trump.
After the Wolfs star wrote a headline-making op-ed in July calling for President Joe Biden to drop his 2024 re-election bid, something Biden later did, Trump criticized Clooney in a post on his Truth Social network, saying in part that “fake movie actor” Clooney should “get out of politics and go back to television.”
More from The Hollywood Reporter
Jeremy Strong Reveals Frog Scene That Didn't End Up in Donald Trump Biopic 'The Apprentice'
'Scandal' Cast to Reunite for Kamala Harris Reproductive Freedom Bus Tour (Exclusive)
John Cena to Star in 'Matchbox,' Based on Mattel Car Toyline
On Tuesday night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Clooney responded to Trump’s suggestion.
“I will if he does,” Clooney said. “That’s a trade-off I’d do.”
Kimmel even suggested that Clooney write another essay urging Trump, the current Republican presidential nominee, to drop his bid, since it “worked once. Why not try it again?”
Clooney also poked fun at Trump later when Kimmel pointed out how he often works with his friends on films, like Wolfs, which he stars in with longtime pal and fellow A-lister Brad Pitt.
“I’m a huge star, dude,” Clooney joked, adding, “They let you do it,” a callback to Trump’s comments in the infamous Access Hollywood video.
Clooney has demurred on the role his op-ed might’ve played in Biden’s decision.
“The person who should be applauded is the president who did the most selfless thing that anybody has done since George Washington,” Clooney said at a Venice Film Festival press conference for Wolfs.
“All of the machinations that got us there, none of that’s going to be remembered, and it shouldn’t be,” he continued. “What should be remembered is the selfless act of someone who did the hardest thing to do. It’s very hard to let go of power — we know that; we’ve seen it all around the world — and for someone to say, ‘I think there’s a better way forward,’ all the credit goes to him, and that’s really the truth.”
The actor, who has since endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, expressed a similar sentiment about the Biden op-ed on Kimmel.
When Kimmel, referring to the op-ed as “the big thing,” said it “change[d] the world” and that it “had an enormous impact on the presidential election,” Clooney said, “I don’t know that that’s true.
“The bottom line is it’s very hard to let go of power, and President Biden did something really extraordinary,” Clooney said. “Honestly, I really do think that that’s what should be focused on.”
He also said he’d urged friend Oprah Winfrey, who made a surprise appearance during Kimmel’s monologue, to run for president, even saying that she should run instead of him.
Later, Clooney shared that he had recently come across the “William Jefferson Clinton” stationery that Kimmel had given him as a gift, with the late night host explaining that he’d received a letter from former President Bill Clinton and reproduced the stationery and given that to Clooney. The actor and well-known prankster put it to use, with fake letters to his fellow stars.
“Every actor I know, I’ve sent them a letter from Bill Clinton,” Clooney said. “I’m trying to find their worst film and say, ‘I was on the plane and I saw —'”
Kimmel also gave Clooney stationery with Pitt’s name, which the actor said he “sent … to everybody.”
“I sent it to Don Cheadle. I sent it to Tom Cruise, saying they want to do Interview [With the Vampire] 2, but this time Brad wants to play Lestat,” Clooney explained. “I sent it to Meryl Streep with a box of CDs for dialect and said, ‘This guy helped me with my accent in Troy, and I think he can really help you.'”
Kimmel added that Pitt told him Cruise even called him about the sequel letter saying he was fine with the change, but Pitt had no idea what he was talking about.
Clooney said his prankster reputation has made his friends fear him.
“Once you’ve done really dastardly, long-running things, then it’s like having the nuclear weapons, everyone’s so terrified,” he said. “Somebody called Richard Kind, and they wanted to do like Punk’d or one of those dumbass shows, and they wanted to punk me, and they called all my friends, and they were like ‘No! He could put a dead body in my apartment.'”
Clooney and Pitt also participated in a pretaped sketch in which the Wolfs co-stars took on roles similar to their characters in the Apple drama as Kimmel recruited them to “take care” of his longtime faux nemesis Matt Damon.
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise
What the 'House of the Dragon' Cast Starred in Before the 'Game of Thrones' Spinoff
Sign up for THR's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.