George Clooney, long one of Hollywood’s most outspoken critics of Donald Trump, accused the US president of threatening to wipe out “an entire civilization” if Iran did not agree to the terms of the cease-fire agreement subsequently reached.
“Some people say Donald Trump is fine, but if you say he wants to end civilization, that’s a war crime,” Clooney said Wednesday in Cuneo, Italy, according to Italy’s ANSA news agency. The actor was speaking to 3,000 high school students at a special event hosted by the Clooney Foundation for Justice.
“You can support conservative ideas, but there’s always a line of decency that you shouldn’t cross,” he added.
Speaking more broadly about current U.S. foreign policy, Clooney expressed concern about President Trump’s recent comments that he is considering withdrawing from NATO after the Transatlantic Alliance’s European members refused to join the Iran war.
“I’m worried about NATO,” Clooney said. “It ensured that not only Europe but other parts of the world were safe. Dismantling an organization like this worries me. Apart from its many mistakes, I believe that the United States (along with NATO) also performed many extraordinary actions that will stand the test of time.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is expected to meet with the US president and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday to try to resolve differences.
ANSA reported that Clooney, who frequently spends time in Italy and owns a villa on the shores of Lake Como, first addressed the students in Italian by saying, “Boongiorno!” before apologizing for his imperfect Italian and switching back to English. But he warned students in both languages that he understood Italian. “So be careful what you say!” he joked.
The Clooney for Justice Foundation, a human rights campaign founded by George and Amal Clooney, was founded in 2016 and currently operates in 40 countries.
