Hollywood actor George Clooney has accused Donald Trump of committing war crimes after the president threatened to destroy “a whole civilisation” unless Iran agreed to a ceasefire and opened the Strait of Hormuz.
“Some say Donald Trump is fine, but if someone says he wants to end civilisation, that’s a crime,” the 64-year-old said yesterday, according to local media.
“You can still support the conservative point of view, but there must be a line of decency, and we must not cross it.”
Clooney, who has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration, made the remarks during a speaking event in front of 3000 high school students in Cuneo, Italy.
The White House issued a terse response to Clooney’s criticism with a post on X, which took aim at Clooney’s career.
“The only person committing war crimes is George Clooney for his awful movies and terrible acting ability,” White House communications director Steven Cheung wrote.
Clooney then doubled down on his condemnation of Trump’s actions, telling The Hollywood Reporter there was little time for “infantile name-calling” when a war is still raging.
“Families are losing their loved ones. Children have been incinerated. The world’s economy is on a knife’s edge,” Clooney told the outlet in a statement.
“This is a time for vigorous debate at the highest levels. Not for infantile name-calling. I’ll start.
“A war crime is alleged ‘when there is intent to physically destroy a nation,’ as defined by the Genocide Convention and the Rome Statute. What is the administration’s defense? [besides calling me a failed actor which I happily agree with having starred in Batman and Robin?].”
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Elsewhere in his speech in Italy, Clooney said he was concerned about the future of NATO after the president said he was considering pulling out due to US allies refusing to become involved in the conflict.
“I’m worried about NATO,” Clooney added.
“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 US [with NATO] has also done many extraordinary things that have stood the test of time.”
Trump earlier met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to discuss his threats to back out of the trans-Atlantic alliance.
Rutte described the meeting as a frank and open discussion between “two good friends” and told CNN that he understood the president’s “disappointment”.
Clooney and Trump have been locked in multiple online squabbles over the president’s two administrations.
Earlier this year, Trump described the Oscar-winning actor and his wife Amal Clooney as “two of the worst political prognosticators of all time”.
“Clooney got more publicity for politics than he did for his very few, and totally mediocre, movies. He wasn’t a movie star at all, he was just an average guy who complained, constantly, about common sense in politics. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!,” Trump said on Truth Social in January.
Trump also labelled Clooney a “second-rate movie star” during a similar tirade on social media last year.
In response to the president’s dig at his career, Clooney remained nonchalant.
“I’ve known Donald Trump for a long time,” he told CBS.
“My job is not to please the president of the United States.
“My job is to try and tell the truth when I can and when I have the opportunity. I am well aware of the idea that people will not like that.”
https://x.com/StevenCheung47/status/2041920446312935625?s=20
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