George Clooney is sharing his thoughts on Joe Biden‘s administration, months after thanking the former president for being “selfless” in stepping down from the 2024 presidential campaign. In a new interview with the New York Times, the actor commented on the Biden team’s issues ahead of Trump’s election.
“The Biden administration was terrible at explaining that we’re a world economy, where we were actually doing better than all the other G7 countries,” Clooney told the publication. “They were bad at telling the story because their messenger was not working at his best, to say the least.”
Clooney maintained, however, that he believes the idea that “the arc of history [bends] toward justice,” even if “it doesn’t feel that way right now.” Clooney was referring to the “pendulum swing” of politics today: “The first Trump election was, I believe, a result of eight years of a Black president,” he said in the interview.
The actor — who’s set to make his Broadway debut in Good Night, and Good Luck, a theater version of the film he co-wrote and directed about journalist Edward R. Murrow — also said that the current political climate is one that does “not worry about facts.” (His play, he insisted, “feels more like it’s about truth, not just the press. Facts matter.”)
“You take a narrative, you make it up, don’t worry about facts, don’t worry about repercussions,” he said of the Trump administration. “No rules count anymore. It’s like letting an infant walk across the 405 freeway in the middle of the afternoon.”
With the journalistic angle of his theater play in mind, Clooney reflected on ABC News’ decision to give Trump’s foundation $15 million to resolve a defamation lawsuit and a separate possible settlement with CBS News. “It has a chilling effect on the press,” said the actor.
Clooney also recently visited The Late Show and talked about his decision to depict Murrow onstage, highlighting the importance of journalism being “the fourth estate.” About Trump’s win this year, he said: “It didn’t work out. That’s what happens. It’s part of democracy. And there’s people who agree and people who disagree, and most of us still like each other. We’re all going to get through it.”
