George Clooney has reignited his long-running feud with the White House after calling Donald Trump's threat to Iran that 'a whole civilization will die tonight' a war crime. Speaking to 3,000 high school students in Cuneo, Italy, on Wednesday, the Oscar-winning actor said the US president had crossed a line of decency.
'Some say Donald Trump is fine,' Clooney told the audience at an event organised by the Clooney Foundation for Justice. 'But if anyone says he wants to end a civilization, that's a war crime. You can still support the conservative point of view but there must be a line of decency, and we must not cross it.'
In response, White House communications director Steven Cheung told the Independent: 'The only person committing war crimes is George Clooney for his awful movies and terrible acting ability.' Clooney later hit back in a statement to Deadline, citing the Genocide Convention and Rome Statute, and adding: 'Families are losing their loved ones. Children have been incinerated. The world's economy is on a knife's edge. This is a time for vigorous debate at the highest levels. Not for infantile name calling.'
Clooney, a longtime Democratic supporter, has been outspoken about his politics for decades. In 2024, he urged Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race in a New York Times op-ed. Despite their political differences, Clooney has said he was once on good terms with Trump before his presidency, telling Variety last year: 'I knew him very well. He used to call me a lot... He's a big goofball. Well, he was. That all changed.'
Trump, who has a history of attacking Hollywood figures, has previously called Clooney a 'second-rate movie star' and a 'backstabber'. In January, he criticised France for granting Clooney and his family citizenship, calling the actor 'average' and 'mediocre'. Clooney responded by referencing the US midterm elections, telling the Hollywood Reporter: 'I totally agree with the current president. We have to make America great again. We'll start in November.'
