George Clooney has accused Donald Trump of committing a war crime over his threats to Iran.
The U.S. president has been widely criticized for using social media to threaten Iran, after writing on Truth Social: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”
According to reports published by the Italian news agency ANSA, Clooney was addressing high school students at an event in Cuneo, Italy when he said: “Some say Donald Trump is fine. But if anyone says he wants to end a civilization, that’s a war crime.”
The 64-year-old actor continued: “You can still support the conservative point of view, but there must be a line of decency, and we must not cross it.”
The White House shot back in a statement to The Independent, with Communications Director Steven Cheung saying: “The only person committing war crimes is George Clooney for his awful movies and terrible acting ability.”
At the same event, Clooney also said he was concerned about the future of NATO, adding: “I’m worried about NATO. It has ensured that Europe, but also the rest of the world, has been safe. Dismantling an institution like this worries me. Aside from many mistakes, I believe the U.S. [with NATO] has also done many extraordinary things that have stood the test of time.”
Clooney and Trump have long traded criticisms and commentary in public.
Last December, the Jay Kelly star told Variety that the pair knew one another, saying: “I knew him very well. He used to call me a lot, and he tried to help me get into a hospital once to see a back surgeon. I’d see him out at clubs and at restaurants. He’s a big goofball. Well, he was. That all changed.”
He went on to criticize media companies for settling lawsuits with the president, adding: “If CBS and ABC had challenged those lawsuits and said, ‘Go f*** yourself,’ we wouldn’t be where we are in the country. That’s simply the truth.”
“Clooney got more publicity for politics than he did for his very few, and totally mediocre, movies,” Trump wrote, while referencing how Clooney “dumped” Joe Biden by urging the former president to drop out of the 2024 election.
“He wasn’t a movie star at all, he was just an average guy who complained, constantly, about common sense in politics,” Trump added.
The president also criticized the news that Clooney and his wife, the human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, had gained French citizenship.
