George Clooney isn’t content to just stay behind the camera — not when the political lens is this focused. In a recent Variety “Actors on Actors” interview with Broadway icon Patti LuPone, the Oscar winner gave his clearest assessment yet of the Trump era, its inevitable end, and where he thinks the Democratic Party needs to go next.
“It goes away when they go away,” Clooney said, comparing Trump to historical authoritarian figures like Andrew Jackson and Joseph McCarthy. “And he will go away.”
Clooney didn’t pull punches, but he didn’t dismiss Trump’s influence, either. In fact, he acknowledged the very force Democrats have struggled to counter.
“He’s charismatic,” Clooney admitted. “There’s no taking that away from him. He’s a television star.”
It’s a simple truth that’s often ignored by Trump’s critics: his media instincts and public presence remain unmatched in modern politics — especially within the Republican Party. And for Clooney, that showmanship has kept him in the spotlight far longer than other political firebrands.
But despite the polarized headlines and high-decibel rhetoric, Clooney pushed back on the doomsday narrative. While many of his Hollywood colleagues paint today’s politics as a five-alarm fire, Clooney sees it as heated — but not unprecedented.
“It’s not nearly as violent… not nearly as hopeless as it was at that moment in time,” Clooney said, referencing the tumultuous 1960s. His point? America has survived worse. And it will again.
The real difference now, he argues, is information overload. With so many news streams, social media narratives, and digital rabbit holes, perception of crisis often outpaces reality.
Even while taking aim at Trump, Clooney reserved his sharper critiques for Democratic Party leadership. After writing a controversial New York Times op-ed questioning President Joe Biden’s cognitive fitness, Clooney found himself in political hot water. Just weeks later, Biden dropped out of the 2024 race, clearing the field for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Still, Clooney didn’t mince words about that either. He was frustrated that Harris was nominated without a primary, and says the party needs new faces — and better storytellers.
“People to represent us better, who have a sense of humor and who have a sense of purpose,” Clooney told LuPone.
He name-dropped Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Kentucky’s Andy Beshear, and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as the kind of leaders who could carry the Democratic torch with both passion and practicality.
Clooney isn’t writing off 2024 — or the Democrats. He predicted a potential House flip in the midterms, which he sees as a vital check on GOP power. And despite his criticisms, Clooney remains invested in the process — more political activist than celebrity observer.
But not everyone’s a fan. Trump, never one to let a jab slide, recently tore into Clooney on Truth Social, calling him a “second-rate movie star” and “failed political pundit” after his interview with 60 Minutes.
