Donald Trump has taken aim at the actor and prominent Democrat activist George Clooney, dismissing his interview on US TV news programme 60 Minutes as a “total puff piece”.
The Oscar-winning star was the subject of Sunday’s show to promote his Broadway debut, in a stage version of the film Good Night, and Good Luck, in which he plays veteran journalist Edward R Murrow, who took part in a historic TV showdown with Senator Joseph McCarthy.
In the interview, Clooney, 63, spoke about his decision to drop his support for Joe Biden, penning an op-ed in the New York Times thought to be key in Biden’s decision to step down. The battle between the government and the press, said Clooney, is a “fight for the ages”.
“You see it happening at the LA Times, you see it happening at the Washington Post,” he said, in reference to protests by staff at the two titles at their rightwing owners, both of whom clamped down on the papers choosing to endorse a candidate at last year’s election.
Clooney drew parallels between the events Good Night, and Good Luck dramatises and the difficulties faced by reporters in pursuit of truth today. The actor cited Trump’s $16m recent defamation settlement with ABC News, as well as the $20bn “voter interference” suit Trump filed against CBS last October in which he claimed 60 Minutes had “deceptively edited” an interview with his rival, Kamala Harris, to present her in a more flattering light.
Said Clooney: “When the other three estates fail, when the judiciary and the executive and the legislative branches fail us, the fourth estate has to succeed.”
“ABC has just settled a lawsuit with the Trump administration. And CBS News is in the process … We’re seeing this idea of using government to scare or fine or use corporations – to make journalists smaller.”
“Governments don’t like the freedom of the press. They never have. And that goes for whether you are a conservative or a liberal or whatever side you’re on. They don’t like the press,” he added.
Trump took to Truth Social to combat Clooney’s arguments, and to offer a broadside against the show.
“Why would the now highly discredited 60 Minutes be doing a total ‘puff piece’ on George Clooney, a second-rate movie ‘star’ and failed political pundit,” wrote Trump.
“He fought hard for Sleepy Joe’s 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 ‘Kamala,’ only to soon realise that this was not going to work out too well.”
He then reiterated his earlier claims against the show, saying: “60 Minutes even fraudulently inserted Fake answers into her disastrous interview, aired just before Election Day, in one of the most embarrassing and dishonest events in broadcast history … And now George Clooney again? His press agent should be making a fortune!!!”
Asked about his article asking Biden to step down as he felt he simply “cannot win”, Clooney, whose father was a journalist, said: “I’ll make it kind of easy. I was raised to tell the truth.
“I 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. And I was not proud of that. And I also believed I had to tell the truth …
At the time, Trump hit back at Clooney for his article, calling him a “fake movie actor” who “never came close to making a great movie”.
“What does Clooney know about anything?” Trump added. “Clooney should get out of politics and go back to television. Movies never really worked for him!!!”
Appearing on Stephen Colbert’s talkshow last week to promote his play, Clooney was asked about his feelings about the defeat of Harris last year.
“Well I don’t know, what am I supposed to do? Storm the fucking Capitol?” he said in reference to the 6 January insurrection, to applause from the audience. Without saying Trump’s name, Clooney also had a message for the new president, saying: “Good for you. I hope you do well because our country needs it, and we will meet you in 3.5 years and see where we go next.”
