Hollywood actor and longtime Democratic activist George Clooney attacked President Donald Trump’s administration while accepting honors in Italy, calling the United States a “kakistocracy” governed by the “least qualified people.” The political lecture quickly drew mockery on X, where one user questioned Clooney’s own qualifications to speak about American politics and geopolitics. Another critic told the actor, who now lives primarily in France, to “stay out of US politics.”
Clooney made the remarks while speaking to reporters at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, where he was receiving the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. Asked how he viewed the current condition of the United States, the 65-year-old actor said he remained optimistic despite considering the present political moment “unfortunate.” Although Clooney didn’t mention Trump by name, he made the target of his criticism clear by discussing the upcoming elections and singling out Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
“Look, I’m always very optimistic about things, and I do believe that we’re at a moment in time that’s unfortunate. I think that’s an understatement,” Clooney began. He said he believed the country would “get through all of this” before comparing the Trump era to the violence and political turmoil that swept through the United States during the late 1960s.
Variety shared video of Clooney recounting his memories of 1968, the year Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated. “I’m old enough to have been through 1968 in the States, when every city in the United States was set on fire, and we lost Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy in the same year,” he said. “There was tons of violence. The capital was surrounded with tanks. We’ve had some other difficult times, but this is one of them.”
Clooney introduced the term “kakistocracy,” which refers to government by the least competent or qualified people. “There’s a great word, ‘kakistocracy,’ which is a country run by the least qualified people,” he said. “I think maybe we have a kakistocracy right now, but we’ll get through it.” Clooney predicted that the November midterm elections would provide a “check and balance,” adding that “in 2028, with any luck, we’ll have some restoration into some normalcy.”
The actor accused administration officials of treating cruelty and unkindness as part of the “fun” of governing. He pointed to a social-media post from Hegseth involving women in Canada’s military, asking, “What’s wrong with you?” Clooney said he was “ashamed” by what he described as a broader loss of decency. He nevertheless concluded his answer with another optimistic prediction, declaring, “We will get through it, and we will come out better on the other side.”
Watch Clooney’s remarks here:
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The account sharing the clip responded by turning Clooney’s attack against the actor. “There couldn’t be a less qualified individual to speak on geopolitics than Clooney, other than @AOC,” the account wrote. The jab compared Clooney with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), another prominent far-left critic of the Trump administration.
Other X users responded directly beneath Variety’s original post with similarly sharp criticism. “Oh, the gaslighting will not work,” a user wrote. “He lives in France and should stay out of US politics.” Another user accused Clooney of lecturing ordinary Americans while living an elite lifestyle, concluding, “He’s a fraud like the majority of this lot, all soon to be replaced by AI.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.