George Clooney is firing back at Donald Trump after the former president suggested he should stay out of politics and return to acting on television.
Earlier this summer, the 63-year-old Oscar winner and lifelong Democrat wrote an impassioned New York Times opinion piece, in which he urged President Joe Biden not to seek a second term.
After Biden’s disastrous debate performance in June, Clooney implored the 81-year-old president to step aside for another candidate, predicting he stood little chance of beating Trump at the ballot box this November.
“We are not going to win in November with this president,” he said, bluntly.
“I love Joe Biden. As a senator. As a vice president and as president. I consider him a friend, and I believe in him. Believe in his character. Believe in his morals. In the last four years, he’s won many of the battles he’s faced,” Clooney wrote. “But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. None of us can.”
Stumbling and mumbling throughout, Biden’s matchup against Trump set off alarm bells among Democrats. Clooney’s pleas came after he supported him in June at a glitzy fundraiser in Los Angeles just weeks earlier.
As the column made headlines, Trump put Clooney on blast, responding to the piece via his Truth Social social media platform, writing, “So now fake movie actor George Clooney, who never came close to making a great movie, is getting into the act. He’s turned on Crooked Joe like the rats they both are. What does Clooney know about anything?”
Trump concluded his message, writing: “Clooney should get out of politics and go back to television. Movies never really worked for him!!!”
In a separate post, Trump shared an edited clip featuring Clooney in a scene from Up in the Air “firing” a confused-looking Biden.
But during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! this week, Clooney escalated their war of words as he threw down a challenge to Trump.
When Kimmel asked the Ocean’s Eleven star about Trump’s suggestion that he stay out of politics, Clooney clapped back: “I will if he does. That’s a trade-off I’d do.”
Frequent Trump critic Howard Stern also took an opportunity to jab the Republican nominee this week on his Sirius XM radio show telling his listeners he doesn’t “hate” the former president, but dislikes the people who vote for him.
“I don’t agree with Trump politically, I don’t think he should be anywhere near the White House. I don’t hate the guy. I hate the people who vote for him. I think they’re stupid. I do. I’ll be honest with you, I have no respect for you,” he said.
When a caller rang in and compared Trump’s anti-immigrant speeches to ones Adolf Hitler gave in the leadup to the Second World War, Stern agreed.
“This does feel like a replay of pre-World War II,” Stern said. “I am one of those people who believe that if the election goes the wrong way, it’s the end of the United States.”
Stern went on to bemoan celebrities at Sunday night’s Emmys who did not speak out against Trump, but acknowledged he was at the end of his career and didn’t mind that he was alienating half his audience.
As his phone lines lit up, Stern refused to answer the calls. “Because I don’t care,” he said. “I know I’m right. Dare I say I’m smarter than you … F— you!”
Meanwhile, after Trump lashed out at Taylor Swift for her endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris in an Instagram post, telling his followers on Truth Social, “I hate Taylor Swift,” a slew of celebrities are publicly expressing their love for the pop star.
Author Stephen King wrote on X: “I love Taylor Swift. Her music makes me happy. End of story.”
Star Wars actor Mark Hamill also voiced his support for the Cruel Summer singer, sharing a tweet that read, “#ILoveTaylorSwift.”
And at the premiere of his new movie Wolfs Tuesday night, Clooney called Swift’s support of Harris “beautiful.”
“What a beautiful thing to do. She’s a real phenomenon right now and it’s exciting to see all these young people really engaged in the national discourse,” Clooney told a reporter from the Associated Press.