WASHINGTON — The White House lashed out at actor George Clooney for publicly accusing President Trump of “war crimes” with his terrifying Tuesday ultimatum that a “whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran failed to cut a deal with him.
Clooney, 64, a staunch Democrat, had excoriated Trump for his bone-chilling threat, which had taken his fiery warnings against the regime to another level.
“Some say Donald Trump is fine. But if anyone says he wants to end a civilization, that’s a war crime,” the actor, who starred in the notable 1997 flop “Batman & Robin,” told high school students at an event organized by his foundation.
“You can still support the conservative point of view, but there must be a line of decency, and we must not cross it.”
Trump had faced a torrent of backlash over his remarks, with Democrats howling for the 25th Amendment or impeachment proceedings to eject him from office. But the White House took aim at Clooney.
“The only person committing war crimes is George Clooney for his awful movies and terrible acting ability,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung fired back on X.
The only person committing war crimes is George Clooney for his awful movies and terrible acting ability. https://t.co/HiatXQTt9D
The Kentucky-born actor and former tequila mogul then slammed Cheung, who is famous for his fiery attacks on anyone who crosses Trump, for “infantile name-calling.”
“Families are losing their loved ones. Children have been incinerated. The world’s economy is on a knife’s edge. This is a time for vigorous debate at the highest levels. Not for infantile name-calling,” he told Deadline.
“I’ll start. A war crime is alleged ‘when there’s 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?)”
Ultimately, Trump announced a fragile two-week cease-fire deal with Iran hours after his dramatic ultimatum, though critical details of that deal remain in dispute by both sides.
Trump’s allies have credited his wild antics for helping to lock down the delicate deal.
Clooney has long been a staple in Democratic politics, having emerged as a key figure in the controversy over former President Joe Biden’s fitness for office in the summer of 2024.
Following Biden’s disastrous debate against Trump, Clooney penned an op-ed in the New York Times, where he gave a blunt assessment of the 46th president’s aloofness during a star-studded fundraiser a few weeks earlier.
Clooney had hosted a mega fundraiser for Biden and later told CNN’s Jake Tapper that the 46th president didn’t appear to recognize him at the event.
Biden’s son, Hunter, later raged against Clooney for his public swipes against his father.
“F—k him and everybody around him, I don’t have to be f—king nice,” Hunter said of the “Good Night and Good Luck” star during an interview with YouTube personality Andrew Callaghan.
“Number one, I agree with [director] Quentin Tarantino, George Clooney is not a f—king actor … he is a brand,” he added. “He’s great friends with [former President] Barack Obama. F—k you. What do you have to do with f—king anything? Why do I have to f—king listen to you?”
