George Clooney has offered a rare compliment to Donald Trump, acknowledging the former president's charisma while predicting the end of his political influence. In an interview with Broadway legend Patti LuPone for Variety's 'Actors on Actors' series, the actor said: '[Republicans] don’t have anybody that’s as charismatic as him. He’s charismatic. There’s no taking that away from him. He’s a television star.'
Despite the compliment, Clooney, a longtime Democrat, forecast that Trump would eventually fade from the political scene. 'We’ve done this before. From President Jackson to [Joseph] McCarthy to this, the authoritarian, the demagogue, it goes away when they go away. And he will go away,' he said.
The remarks come amid a long-running feud between the two. Trump previously slammed Clooney as a 'fake movie actor' and 'second rate movie star' after the actor penned a New York Times op-ed calling for Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race. Clooney, unfazed by the criticism, told CBS Mornings: 'I don’t care. I've known Donald Trump for a long time. My job is not to please the President of the United States.'
Clooney, who raised $30 million for Biden's campaign last year, has been promoting his Broadway debut as journalist Edward R. Murrow in 'Good Night and Good Luck'. He also singled out Maryland Governor Wes Moore as a potential future Democratic leader, praising his handling of the Baltimore bridge collapse and his military service.
