It appears unlikely that Ocean’s Eleven is among President Donald Trump’s preferred films.
In a post on Truth Social on Sunday night, March 23, Trump, age 78, expressed his disapproval of George Clooney’s recent interview on “60 Minutes.” During the segment, Clooney discussed his Broadway debut and the importance of press freedom. Trump labeled the segment as a “total ‘puff piece'” and referred to Clooney, who is 63, as a “second-rate movie ‘star'” and a “failed political pundit.” The President further criticized Clooney for initially supporting Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, only to distance himself from it later.
“Why would the now highly discredited ’60 Minutes’ be doing a total ‘puff piece’ on George Clooney…” Trump wrote. “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 realize that that was not going to work out too well.”
Trump also criticized CBS’s flagship news program, accusing the network of “fraudulently inserting fake answers into Harris’ disastrous interview, aired just before Election Day, in one of the most embarrassing and dishonest events in broadcast history.” This comment refers to Trump’s ongoing $20 billion defamation lawsuit against CBS News and its parent company, Paramount Global.
Clooney’s “60 Minutes” interview coincided with his Broadway debut in “Good Night, and Good Luck,” a drama about journalist Edward R. Murrow’s efforts to pursue truth during Senator Joseph McCarthy’s anti-communist investigations in the 1950s. Clooney, who co-wrote and directed the 2005 film of the same name, sees parallels between that era and today’s media environment.
During the interview, Clooney specifically mentioned Trump’s legal battles with media organizations as examples of government attempts to intimidate the press. “When the other three estates fail, when the judiciary and the executive and the legislative branches fail us, the fourth estate has to succeed,” Clooney said. “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.”
The Oscar winner added, “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.”
Clooney, a lifelong Democrat, also addressed his controversial July 2024 New York Times op-ed, in which he called on then-President Joe Biden to step down from the 2024 presidential ticket. The actor explained his decision to publish the piece, which many political analysts consider to have played a significant role in Biden’s eventual withdrawal from the race.
“I’ll make it kind of easy. I was raised to tell the truth,” Clooney explained on “60 Minutes.” “I had seen the president up close for this fundraiser, and I was surprised. And so I feel as if there were a lot of profiles in cowardice in my party through all of that,” the actor added. “And I was not proud of that. And I also believed I had to tell the truth.”
In his July op-ed, Clooney repeatedly mentioned Biden’s age as a cause for concern and wrote that the “fight against time” was “one battle” Biden couldn’t win. “None of us can,” he continued. “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.”
At the time of the op-ed’s publication, Trump responded on social media, dismissing Clooney as a “fake movie actor” who “never came close to making a great movie.” “What does Clooney know about anything?” the president asked. “Clooney should get out of politics and go back to television. Movies never really worked for him!!!”
After Biden announced he would not seek a second term, Clooney praised the decision as “the most selfless thing that anybody has done since George Washington,” highlighting what he saw as an act of true leadership.
In a recent appearance on Stephen Colbert’s show, Clooney took a more conciliatory tone toward the current administration. He said he hoped Trump would do well “because our country needs it ” and added, “we will meet you in 3.5 years and see where we go next.”
The feud between Trump and Clooney comes amid ongoing settlement discussions between Trump’s team and Paramount Global over the president’s defamation lawsuit against the network. The lawsuit has reportedly raised concerns among staff at “60 Minutes” and CBS News, especially as many legal experts have characterized it as having little merit. The program has continued to air segments critical of Trump’s presidency, including recent coverage of the impacts of his executive order banning diversity, equity, and inclusion policies across the federal government.
