George Clooney Opens Up About His Former Friendship with Donald Trump: “He’s a Big Goofball”

George Clooney recently spoke about his past friendship with Donald Trump and how their relationship changed over time in a new interview for Variety.

Long before Clooney became a household name, he learned important lessons about morality from his father, a journalist. That early influence sparked Clooney’s interest in media and civic engagement, inspiring his work on the film Good Night, and Good Luck, which dramatizes how CBS News stood up to Joseph McCarthy.

Clooney has often connected the story to modern issues, including how the media handled the lead-up to the Iraq War.

Looking back, Clooney says the experience feels different in the era of Trump. When he portrayed Murrow last spring, CBS News was dealing with a lawsuit involving Trump so that the network could secure approval for the sale of Paramount to Skydance.

Clooney was frustrated by the network’s decision to settle, as well as ABC News’ similar settlement over a defamation claim. “If CBS and ABC had challenged those lawsuits and said, ‘Go f*** yourself,’ we wouldn’t be where we are in the country,” Clooney said. “That’s simply the truth.”

Interestingly, Clooney says he and Trump were once friendly. “I knew him very well,” he recalled. “He used to call me a lot, and he tried to help me get into a hospital once to see a back surgeon. I’d see him out at clubs and at restaurants. He’s a big goofball. Well, he was. That all changed.”

Clooney has remained politically vocal over the years. In 2024, he made headlines with a New York Times op-ed urging President Joe Biden to drop out of the race after a poor debate performance. While some Democrats appreciated his willingness to take a stand, the Biden family criticized Clooney for being disloyal.

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