George Clooney recently made headlines with a bold op-ed in July, urging President Joe Biden to reconsider his 2024 re-election bid—a suggestion Biden later heeded. In response, former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to criticize Clooney, calling him a “fake movie actor” and advising him to leave politics and return to television.
On Tuesday night’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Clooney fired back at Trump’s remarks. “I will if he does,” Clooney quipped, adding, “That’s a trade-off I’d be willing to make.”
Kimmel even proposed that Clooney pen another op-ed urging Trump, the current Republican presidential nominee, to withdraw his candidacy. “It worked once,” Kimmel suggested, “so why not give it another shot?”
Later in the show, Clooney took a playful jab at Trump when Kimmel mentioned his tendency to work with friends on projects, like Wolfs, where he stars alongside longtime buddy and fellow A-lister Brad Pitt. “I’m a huge star, dude,” Clooney joked, referencing Trump’s infamous Access Hollywood comments with, “They let you do it.”
At a Venice Film Festival press conference for Wolfs, Clooney downplayed the impact of his op-ed on Biden’s decision, emphasizing the President’s remarkable selflessness. “The person who deserves the most credit is the President who undertook the most selfless act since George Washington,” Clooney remarked. He added that the political maneuvering behind the scenes would be forgotten, and what should truly be remembered is Biden’s courageous choice to relinquish power, highlighting how challenging it is to step away from such influence.
The actor, who has since endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee, reiterated his stance on the Biden op-ed during his appearance on Kimmel. When Kimmel described the op-ed as “the big thing” that “changed the world” and had a significant impact on the presidential election, Clooney was modest. “I don’t know that that’s true,” he said.
Clooney emphasized, “The bottom line is it’s very hard to let go of power, and President Biden did something truly extraordinary. Honestly, I really think that’s what should be the focus.”
Clooney also mentioned that he had encouraged his friend Oprah Winfrey, who made a surprise appearance during Kimmel’s monologue, to consider running for president. He even suggested that she should run instead of him.
Later, Clooney revealed that he recently found the “William Jefferson Clinton” stationery that Kimmel had gifted him. Kimmel received a letter from former President Bill Clinton and recreated the stationery, giving it to Clooney. Known for his playful pranks, Clooney used the stationery to send fake letters to his fellow stars.
“I’ve sent a letter from Bill Clinton to every actor I know,” Clooney said. “I find their worst film and write, ‘I was on the plane and I saw —’”
Kimmel also gifted Clooney stationery featuring Brad Pitt’s name, which Clooney admitted he “sent… to everybody.”
“I sent a letter to Don Cheadle and to Tom Cruise, saying they want to make Interview with the Vampire 2, but this time Brad wants to play Lestat,” Clooney explained. “I even sent a letter to Meryl Streep with a box of CDs for dialect coaching, saying, ‘This guy helped me with my accent in Troy, and I think he could really help you.’”
Kimmel added that Pitt mentioned Cruise even called him about the sequel letter, saying he was fine with the change. However, Pitt was confused and had no idea what Cruise was talking about.
Clooney noted that his reputation as a prankster has made his friends wary. “Once you’ve pulled off really elaborate, long-running pranks, it’s like having nuclear weapons—everyone gets terrified,” he said. “Someone called Richard Kind to try and punk me for a show like Punk’d, and when they contacted all my friends, they said, ‘No way! He could put a dead body in my apartment.’”
Clooney and Pitt also joined in on a pre-taped sketch where they reprised roles reminiscent of their characters from Wolfs. In the humorous segment, Kimmel enlisted the duo to “take care” of his long-time comedic rival, Matt Damon.
