George Clooney Rips Trump’s America as a Government of «the Least Qualified People»

George Clooney delivered a blistering assessment of America under Donald Trump during a press conference at the Venice Film Festival, describing the current administration with one particularly unforgiving political term: a «kakistocracy». Asked about the political climate in the United States, the actor and longtime Democratic activist acknowledged what he considers a deeply troubling period for the country before explaining why he believes the unusual word fits the moment. «There's a great word: kakistocracy, which is a country run by the least qualified people. I think maybe we have a kakistocracy right now, but we'll get through it.» The term, derived from Greek, generally describes government by the worst or least qualified people, making Clooney's choice of language an unmistakable rebuke of those currently holding power in Washington. Despite that harsh judgment, however, Clooney did not portray the situation as permanent, expressing confidence that America's democratic institutions can ultimately withstand the political turmoil.

Clooney's criticism came as he discussed a controversy involving Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and an image connected to young Canadian cadets. Hegseth had shared a screenshot on X showing a female cadet and an instructor at the Vernon Cadet Training Centre in British Columbia, adding the parenthetical remark «(this is real)». The post generated accusations that one of America's highest-ranking defense officials was using his enormous online platform to ridicule or body-shame young participants associated with an allied country's cadet program. For Clooney, the episode represented something broader than another inflammatory social-media controversy. He pointed to it while criticizing what he sees as a growing acceptance of cruelty and deliberate humiliation in American political discourse, particularly when such behavior comes from officials entrusted with significant national responsibilities. His frustration was therefore directed not only at individual policies, but at what he believes the incident revealed about standards of leadership and basic decency inside the current political environment.

Yet Clooney paired his criticism with an insistence that the United States is capable of moving beyond the current moment. Rather than suggesting that Trump's political dominance is irreversible, he pointed toward the democratic system and upcoming midterm elections as mechanisms through which Americans can impose checks and balances on those governing them. His latest intervention also continues a political role that has repeatedly placed him at the center of national controversies. Clooney demonstrated that willingness most dramatically in July 2024, when he publicly urged Joe Biden to abandon his reelection campaign only weeks after helping host a massive Los Angeles fundraiser for him. In his New York Times essay, «I Love Joe Biden. But We Need a New Nominee,» Clooney broke with prominent Democrats still publicly defending Biden after his troubled debate performance against Trump. The intervention helped intensify pressure surrounding Biden's candidacy and reinforced Clooney's reputation as a Hollywood figure willing to publicly challenge political leaders from either party when he believes they are failing.

Clooney's decision to intervene in the 2024 election was especially consequential because he had been one of Biden's most prominent celebrity supporters and Democratic fundraisers. Only weeks before publishing his op-ed, Clooney had helped host a star-studded Los Angeles fundraiser that brought in roughly $30 million for Biden's campaign. After spending time with Biden there, however, the actor concluded that Democrats were ignoring serious questions about the president's ability to wage another national campaign. His public break generated enormous attention and added pressure on Biden before he eventually withdrew from the race. It also provoked an angry response from Hunter Biden, who criticized Clooney over his intervention. Clooney later defended his decision while declining to escalate the personal dispute, saying he could challenge some of Hunter's claims but instead wished him well in his recovery. After the election, Clooney continued to stand behind the op-ed itself while acknowledging that Democrats' subsequent process was flawed, describing the absence of a competitive primary before Kamala Harris became the nominee as a «mistake».

Clooney's increasingly outspoken political role has also made him a frequent target of Trump, turning disagreements between the two men into a long-running and deeply personal public feud. Following Clooney's intervention against Biden in 2024, Trump characterized the actor as a «very disloyal backstabber» and a «third-rate movie actor». The attacks continued after Trump returned to the White House. Following Clooney's appearance on 60 Minutes in 2025, Trump dismissed him as a «failed political pundit» and mocked his role in Biden's downfall, saying Clooney had dumped the former president «like a dog». Trump escalated the criticism again later that year, declaring: «Clooney got more publicity for politics than he did for his very few, and totally mediocre, movies.» He followed that attack with another broadside: «He wasn't a movie star at all, he was just an average guy who complained, constantly, about common sense in politics.» Trump also branded Clooney one of the «worst political prognosticators of all time.»

The hostility is particularly striking given that Clooney has described a very different relationship with Trump before politics transformed the two men into public adversaries. Clooney has recalled that Trump once called him personally and even attempted to connect him with a surgeon while the actor was struggling with back problems. Looking back on the man he knew before Trump entered presidential politics, Clooney described him as «a big goofball», before adding, «Well, he was. That all changed.» Their relationship has certainly changed since then, with Clooney becoming an increasingly vocal critic and Trump repeatedly responding with attacks on his career, political judgment and celebrity status. Clooney's declaration in Venice that America may now be experiencing a «kakistocracy» represents another escalation in that feud. But his message was not entirely pessimistic: even while describing the country as being governed by «the least qualified people», Clooney maintained that the United States possesses the democratic mechanisms to eventually move beyond the current political era.

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