Clooney Reflects on Shifting Friendship with Donald Trump
George Clooney is reflecting on his previous friendship with President Donald Trump.
“I was quite familiar with him,” Clooney, 64, shared with Variety in an interview released on Tuesday, December 30. “He would frequently call me, and he attempted to assist me in getting into a hospital to see a spinal surgeon. I would see him at nightclubs and at restaurants.”
The Academy Award-winning actor added that Trump’s behavior shifted once he became involved in politics. “He was a bit of a jester,” he told the publication. “Indeed, he was. That all altered.” (Trump was elected to the presidency in 2016 and again in 2024.)
Clooney, who has consistently expressed liberal views within the entertainment industry, noted that it has been a “challenging” period for the United States. His remarks follow closely after he and his wife, Amal Clooney, along with their 8-year-old twins, Alexander and Ella, were granted French citizenship, according to a formal decree published by the French newspaper Journal Officiel on Saturday, December 27.
George and Amal Clooney Obtain French Citizenship With Their Kids
The couple own a rural estate in southern France, which includes 100 acres of vineyards and 1200 olive trees and serves as their primary residence. The pair also have additional properties in England and Italy.
Clooney previously discussed his decision to raise his children on a farm, recalling his own upbringing on a farm in his home state of Kentucky, explaining how his perspective on a more rural lifestyle has evolved over time.
“A significant portion of my childhood was spent on a farm, and as a young person, I disliked the entire concept of it,” he explained to Esquire in October about his desire to leave Los Angeles behind. “However, for them, it’s like – they aren’t using tablets, you know? They dine with adults and are expected to clear their dishes. They have a considerably better life.”
The actor expressed concern about raising his twins in “the atmosphere of Hollywood,” a place that he believed would “never” provide them with “a typical” upbringing.
“France – they generally don’t care about fame,” he explained. “I don’t want them to be walking around worried about photographers. I don’t want them being compared to other celebrities’ children.”
Spending time on a farm also teaches his children practical skills, the actor said, recounting a time he assigned them the task of repainting an old property fence that had been damaged by the sun.
“Initially they’re making these small, delicate brushstrokes, tap, tap, tap,” he joked. “And I say, ‘Nooo, paint the fence.’ And then they go wild painting the fence and they’re covered in paint and oil and stuff.”
Although officially becoming French citizens is new for the family of four, George and Amal, 47, are very familiar with the European way of life. The couple met in Lake Como, Italy, in 2013, exchanging vows in Venice the following year.
George Clooney’s Private Life: Inside His Relationship With Amal and More
Since welcoming Ella and Alexander in June 2017, the foursome have established a tradition of spending summers at their villa, which is situated in the Alps of northern Italy.
In August 2022, a source close to the couple exclusively told Us Weekly that George and Amal were finding comfort in Europe during the warmer months.
“They’re incredibly happy and in a very positive place right now,” the source said, noting that when not with their children, George and Amal enjoyed “romantic evenings and drives through the countryside.”
