Donald Trump and George Clooney Justin Sullivan/Getty Images; Neil P. Mockford/Getty Images George Clooney is clapping back at Donald Trump‘s White House after they criticized his acting abilities when he accused the president of committing war crimes over his Iran threats.
In a new statement shared with The Hollywood Reporter, the Oscar winner slammed the Trump administration, saying there’s no time for “infantile name-calling” when more serious matters are happening in the world and the U.S.
“Families are losing their loved ones. Children have been incinerated. The world’s economy is on a knife’s edge,” Clooney wrote. “This is a time for vigorous debate at the highest levels. Not for infantile name-calling. I’ll start. A war crime is alleged ‘when there is intent to physically destroy a nation,’ as defined by the Genocide Convention and the Rome Statute. What is the administration’s defense? [besides calling me a failed actor which I happily agree with having starred in Batman and Robin?].”
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This latest exchange between Clooney — who has been very outspoken against Trump over the years — and the current administration ignited when Trump wrote on Truth Social Tuesday, threatening that a “whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” unless Iran agreed to his terms for a ceasefire deal. (The U.S. and Iran have reportedly since reached a conditional two-week ceasefire.)
The Jay Kelly actor then addressed the president’s threats while speaking to 3,000 high school students in Cuneo, Italy, at a special event organized by the Clooney Foundation for Justice on Wednesday.
“Some say Donald Trump is fine. But if anyone says he wants to end a civilization, that’s a war crime,” Clooney said, according to Italian news outlet ANSA. He added, “You can still support the conservative point of view, but there must be a line of decency, and we must not cross it.”
However, White House communications director Steven Cheung clearly didn’t like the actor’s remarks, writing on X Wednesday, “The only person committing war crimes is George Clooney for his awful movies and terrible acting ability.”
And that’s what led to Clooney getting the last word… at least for now, as Trump isn’t known to stay silent.
The conflict between the U.S. and Iran started at the end of February, when military strikes were coordinated by the Trump administration and Israel, targeting Iranian military infrastructure, nuclear facilities and leadership. In more recent weeks, as the war continues, there have been multiple deadline delays and escalating threats from Trump, while he also claimed negotiations with Iran were going well.
As of Tuesday, the president agreed to suspend his planned bombing of Iran for two weeks as talks continue over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Deadline was first to report Clooney’s new statement.
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