During his recent appearance on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, actor George Clooney had a surprising message for both President Donald Trump and the Democratic Party.
Clooney, aged 63, was a guest on the CBS late-night talk show to promote his Broadway play, Good Night, and Good Luck. The play is based on the movie of the same name, a project in which Clooney starred, co-wrote, and directed nearly two decades ago.
The conversation eventually shifted to politics, with Clooney – who had endorsed Kamala Harris in the previous year’s presidential election – disclosing that he was ‘raised a Democrat in Kentucky’ and humorously stating, ‘It has been nothing but fun.’
Clooney shared his first time voting was when he cast his ballot for Democratic incumbent Jimmy Carter in the 1980 election, which Ronald Reagan won. He said, ‘I lost with some Bushes and I won with some Clintons and Obamas,’ adding, ‘You know, this is Democracy.’
While neither Clooney nor Colbert mentioned Trump by name, the Oscars winner addressed Democrats losing the election.
‘Well I don’t know, what am I supposed to do? Storm the f***ing Capitol?’ he said referencing the January 6 2021 insurrection, prompting applause from the crowd.
He also added an unexpected direct message to Trump, without saying his name: ‘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.’
It comes after Clooney drew Trump’s ire with an op-ed earlier last year in which he begged Joe Biden – then still a candidate – to drop out of the race to give Democrats a fighting chance to keep the White House.
George Clooney sent a rather surprising message to both President Donald Trump and the Democratic Party during an appearance on Late Show with Stephen Colbert
While neither Clooney nor Colbert mentioned President Trump by name, Clooney said of the Democrats losing this last election, ‘Well I don’t know, what am I supposed to do? Storm the f***ing Capitol ?’ which got the crowd to applaud, referencing the January 6 2021 insurrection.
The actor went on to share a story about his seven-year-old son Alexander, which ultimately served as a message to Trump, coming less than a year after he was instrumental in getting President Joe Biden to step down for Kamala Harris .
Although Clooney was clearly disappointed in the outcome of the 2024 presidential race, he told Colbert that losing an election is part of the democratic process.
‘It’s part of democracy. There are people who agree and disagree, and most of us still like each other, we’re all gonna get through it,’ he continued.
The actor, seemingly trying to relate to everyday life, then went on the share a story about his seven-year-old son Alexander.
‘I have a son who plays in chess tournaments, loves chess. He’s seven years old and he’s playing against a lot of older kids and he is not winning all the time, as you can imagine,’ Clooney added.
‘He gets upset, and I say, “Listen, shake the guy’s hand, you say good game, I’ll get you next time. And that’s kind of how… you’ve got to live by those rules,’ Clooney said.
Colbert knocked on his wood desk, as Clooney said, ‘What?’ and Colbert replied, ‘That there’ll be another (election),” referring to Trump’s comments from July 2024 while campaigning for Christian conservatives.
‘You got to get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again. We’ll have it fixed so good, you’re not gonna have to vote,’ Trump said at the time.
Back in early July, just over a month before the 2024 Democratic National Convention, Clooney penned a New York Times op-ed entitled, ‘I Love Joe Biden, But We Need a New Nominee,’ weeks after Biden’s troubling performance in the June Presidential debate.
‘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 said in the op-ed, just weeks after he hosted a fund-raiser for Biden himself.
‘It’s part of democracy. There are people who agree and disagree, and most of us still like each other, we’re all gonna get through it,’ he continued
The actor added, ‘I have a son who plays in chess tournaments, loves chess. He’s seven years old and he’s playing against a lot of older kids and he is not winning all the time, as you can imagine’
‘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. That is part of the thing,’ Clooney said
Colbert knocked on his wood desk, as Clooney said, ‘What?’ and Colbert replied, ‘That there’ll be another (election),” referring to Trump’s comments from July 2024 while campaigning for Christian conservatives
Back in early July, just over a month before the 2024 Democratic National Convention, Clooney penned a New York Times op-ed entitled, ‘I Love Joe Biden, But We Need a New Nominee,’ weeks after Biden’s troubling performance in the June Presidential debate
‘But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. None of us can. It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe “big F-ing deal” Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate,’ Clooney opined.
He also plainly stated, ‘We are not going to win in November with this president. On top of that, we won’t win the House, and we’re going to lose the Senate.’
‘This isn’t only my opinion; this is the opinion of every senator and Congress member and governor who I’ve spoken with in private. Every single one, irrespective of what he or she is saying publicly,’ Clooney continued.
The actor thought removing Biden from the ticket would, ‘enliven our party’ and ‘wake up voters’ who had ‘checked out’ even before the debate.
The op-ed was just part of a growing chorus among Democrats for Biden to step down, which he ultimately did just 11 days later on July 21, officially endorsing his Vice-President Kamala Harris to run in his stead.
Harris and running mate Tim Walz ultimately lost to Donald Trump and JD Vance by an overwhelming margin in the Electoral College (312 to 226) but by just 1.5% in the popular vote (49.8% – 77.3 million votes to 48.3% – 75.01 million votes).
