In a fiery New Year's message, former U.S. President Donald Trump took aim at Hollywood actor and longtime critic George Clooney, mocking his family's recent decision to obtain French citizenship. The attack, posted on Trump's Truth Social platform on December 31, 2025, labeled Clooney a "totally mediocre" actor and framed the move abroad as "good news" for America.
The Truth Social Tirade
Trump's post directly linked Clooney's new status to his criticism of immigration policies. "Good News! George and Amal Clooney, two of the worst political prognosticators of all time, have officially become citizens of France which is, sadly, in the midst of a major crime problem because of their absolutely horrendous handling of immigration, much like we had under Sleepy Joe Biden," Trump wrote.
The 79-year-old former commander-in-chief did not stop there. He revisited Clooney's high-profile political interventions, specifically an op-ed the actor wrote in 2024 urging then-President Joe Biden not to seek re-election. "Remember when Clooney, after the now infamous debate, dumped Joe during a fundraiser, only to go onto the side of another stellar candidate, Jamala(K!)," Trump continued, misspelling Vice President Kamala Harris's name.
Trump concluded his scathing assessment of Clooney's career by writing, "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." The message ended with his signature slogan: "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
Clooney's Move to France and Past Relationship with Trump
The news that sparked Trump's ire broke earlier in the week. George Clooney, his wife Amal, and their eight-year-old twins Ella and Alexander were granted French citizenship. The family purchased an estate in France in 2021. In an October 2025 interview with Esquire, Clooney explained his desire to raise his children away from Hollywood, stating he didn't want them "growing up in the culture of Hollywood" or "worried about paparazzi."
According to the Associated Press, France's Foreign Ministry stated the Clooneys were eligible for citizenship because "they contribute, through their distinguished actions, to France’s international influence and cultural outreach."
Interestingly, the relationship between the two men was not always hostile. In a recent Variety interview published in December 2025, Clooney, 64, recalled knowing Trump "very well" before his political career. "He used to call me a lot... He’s a big goofball. Well, he was. That all changed," Clooney said.
A History of Political Animosity
Once Trump entered politics, Clooney became a vocal critic. In 2017, he told Postmedia that Trump was a "wannabe movie star" who had a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which Clooney himself does not have. He also launched a profanity-laced critique of Trump's former strategist Steve Bannon, calling him a "failed f—ing screenwriter."
Following the January 6th Capitol riots in 2021, Clooney predicted Trump would be relegated to "the dustbin of history," associating his name forever with "insurrection." More recently, in a June 2025 interview on CBS's 60 Minutes, Clooney revealed he had privately asked President Biden not to run for a second term, citing concerns about the president's acuity.
That interview prompted an earlier Truth Social post from Trump, who questioned why "the now highly-discredited 60 Minutes" would do a "puff piece" on a "second-rate movie 'star' and failed political pundit."
The New Year's Day exchange underscores the ongoing cultural and political divide in the United States, with a former president using his platform to personally attack a celebrity who has consistently opposed him. The incident also highlights how personal histories can become fodder in the nation's broader political conflicts.
