‘I\u2019d see him out at clubs and at restaurants,’ Oscar winner admits<\/p>\n
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Published Dec 31, 2025 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last updated 6\u00a0hours ago \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 4 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n George Clooney wasn\u2019t always at odds with Donald Trump. In a new interview Variety<\/a> profile, the Jay Kelly star says that despite his criticism of the reality-TV star-turned-politician he used to be on friendly terms with the U.S. president.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.<\/p>\n SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authors<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cI knew him very well,\u201d Clooney, 64, told the outlet in an interview published this week. \u201cHe used to call me a lot, and he tried to help me get into a hospital once to see a back surgeon. I\u2019d see him out at clubs and at restaurants. He\u2019s a big goofball. Well, he was. That all changed.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n During Trump\u2019s first presidency, Clooney was a vocal critic of the Republican leader.<\/p>\n Speaking to Postmedia nearly a decade ago<\/a>, Clooney accused Trump of trying to be a wannabe movie star.<\/p>\n \u201cDonald Trump pays $100,000-a-year to the Screen Actors Guild and has a star on Hollywood Boulevard. I don\u2019t have a star on Hollywood Boulevard, but Donald Trump does,\u201d he said back in 2017.<\/p>\n In that same conversation, Clooney also hit out at Steve Bannon, Trump\u2019s former chief strategist.<\/p>\n Your Midday Sun<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cSteve Bannon is a failed f\u2014ing screenwriter. If you\u2019ve ever read that bulls\u2014 screenplay (referring to The Thing I Am<\/a>, Bannon\u2019s infamous rap musical), it\u2019s unbelievable. Now, had he in some miraculous way got that thing produced, he\u2019d still be in Hollywood making movies and licking my ass to come do one of his stupid-ass screenplays\u2026 That\u2019s who Steve Bannon is,\u201d Clooney said.<\/p>\n The Oscar winner also said he wasn\u2019t an out-of-touch liberal.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople say, \u2018You\u2019re out-of-touch.\u2019 Listen, I sold ladies shoes, I sold insurance door-to-door, I worked at an all-night liquor store, I cut tobacco for a living. I can change the fan belt in my car. I grew up in that world in Kentucky. I\u2019m not separated from it in any shape or form,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t have to put the word \u2018compassion\u2019 in front of the word liberal to prove I give a s\u2014. \u2026 I didn\u2019t move to Hollywood and become a liberal. I was raised as a liberal in Kentucky. You think I give a s\u2014 about what someone says about me now? Try being a liberal in Kentucky.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Trump called Clooney a \u2018second-rate movie star\u2019<\/p>\n Clooney, a lifelong Democrat, waded into the 2024 election when he publicly asked then-president Joe Biden to drop out of the race against Trump.<\/p>\n \u201cI had seen the president up close for this fundraiser, and I was surprised. And so I feel as if there was a lot of profiles in cowardice in my party through all of that,\u201d Clooney said in an interview with 60 Minutes back in June. \u201cI believed I had to tell the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n But Clooney\u2019s interview did not sit well with Trump, who questioned the show for giving airtime to the \u201csecond-rate movie star.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy would the now highly-discredited 60 Minutes be doing a total \u2018puff piece\u2019 on George Clooney, a second-rate movie \u2018star\u2019 and failed political pundit,\u201d Trump, 78, wrote on Truth Social.<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cHe fought hard for Sleepy Joe\u2019s election, and then, right after the Debate, dumped him like a dog. Later, I assume under orders from the Obama camp, pushed all out for \u2018Kamala,\u2019 only to soon realize that this was not going to work out too well,\u201d Trump continued.<\/p>\n After Clooney wrote a New York Times op-ed<\/a> urging Biden to step down in July 2024, Trump put the actor on blast, responding to the piece via his Truth Social social media platform<\/a>, writing, \u201cSo now fake movie actor George Clooney, who never came close to making a great movie, is getting into the act. He\u2019s turned on Crooked Joe like the rats they both are.\u201d<\/p>\n Clooney played dogged American journalist Edward R. Murrow last spring in a Broadway version of his movie Good Night, and Good Luck. He said that plot highlighted the need for a free press to hold public officials to account.<\/p>\n Advertisement 6<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cWe are now at a place now where we\u2019ve found that it\u2019s harder and harder and harder to discern the truth. Facts are now negotiated,\u201d Clooney said.<\/p>\n In his year-end conversation with Variety<\/a>, Clooney pointed to lawsuits both CBS and ABC settled with Trump as evidence that media outlets are capitulating to the president.<\/p>\n \u201cIf CBS and ABC had challenged those lawsuits and said, \u2018Go f\u2014 yourself,\u2019 we wouldn\u2019t be where we are in the country,\u201d Clooney said. \u201cThat\u2019s simply the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n Clooney and wife Amal granted French citizenship<\/p>\n Clooney\u2019s latest assessment of Trump comes amid news that he actor, his wife Amal and their twins Ella and Alexander have obtained French citizenship<\/a>.<\/p>\n The couple bought an estate in France in 2021 and he\u00a0told Esquire<\/a>\u00a0in October that he didn\u2019t want his children growing up \u201cin the culture of Hollywood.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement 7<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want them to be walking around worried about paparazzi. I don\u2019t want them being compared to somebody else\u2019s famous kids,\u201d Clooney said. \u201cA good portion of my life growing up was on a farm, and as a kid I hated the whole idea of it. But now, for them, it\u2019s like \u2013 they\u2019re not on their iPads, you know? They have dinner with grown-ups and have to take their dishes in. They have a much better life.\u201d<\/p>\n mdaniell@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n George Clooney staying quiet about politics after Trump thumps Harris?<\/p>\n <\/a> Trump dumps on Clooney\u2019s \u201860 Minutes\u2019 interview: \u2018Second-rate movie star\u2019<\/p>\n <\/a> George Clooney on Trump’s Hollywood ties and why he’s not an ‘out of touch liberal’<\/p>\n![\"George](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/george-clooney-trump.jpg\")
George Clooney and Donald Trump are seen in this combination file photo. The two might be enemies now, but the Oscar winner says he used to be on friendly terms with the U.S. president. Photo by Getty ImagesArticle content<\/p>\n![\"Toronto](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/20.2.3\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-tsun.svg\"){kind=logo}
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Then President Joe Biden shakes hands with actor, director and producer George Clooney during the Kennedy Center honorees reception at the White House in Washington, Dec. 4, 2022. Photo by Manuel Balce Ceneta \/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS<\/p>\n![\"George](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2169039023-e1731335008683.jpg\")
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