George Clooney responds to Trump after the US President mocked his French nationality George Clooney

George Clooney has criticized US President Donald Trump for criticizing France’s decision to grant the Hollywood actor and his family French citizenship.

The 64-year-old Oscar winner, his wife Amal Alamuddin Clooney, and their two children became French citizens earlier this month after living on an estate in the south of France for years.

Clooney praised French privacy laws that kept his family largely protected from international media intrusions, as well as giving him the opportunity to raise his children outside of Hollywood.

Trump, whose administration supports anti-immigration parties in Europe, wrote on the website Truth Social that France welcomed the Ocean’s Eleven star, a longtime Democratic supporter, fundraiser and outspoken critic of the president.

“Good news! George and Amal Clooney, two of the worst political forecasters ever, have officially become French citizens, and are, unfortunately, in the middle of a major crime problem due to their absolutely appalling handling of immigration,” Trump wrote.

“Clooney has gotten more political publicity than he has in his very few and quite mediocre films,” the president added. “He wasn’t a movie star at all, he was just an ordinary guy who constantly complained about the common sense in politics.”

Referring to the US midterm elections scheduled for November 3, Clooney told The Hollywood Reporter in response: “I completely agree with the current president. We have to make America great again. We’ll start in November.”

The news that Clooney and his family are becoming French comes before language requirements for citizenship are tightened for everyone else under new immigration rules from January 1.

A junior member of French President Emmanuel Macron’s government also criticized the decision to grant passports even though Clooney speaks poor French.

“I personally understand that some French people feel a double standard,” Marie-Pierre Vedrine, Minister of State for the Interior, told France Info radio station. “We have to be careful about the message we send.”

Its president, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, and the Foreign Ministry defended the decision.

The Civil Code stipulates that “French citizenship may be granted by naturalization, upon the proposal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to any French-speaking foreigner who applies for it and contributes, through his distinguished service, to the influence of France and the prosperity of its international economic relations.”

Under the new immigration rules, applicants will need a certificate proving that they have a level of French that could qualify them for admission to a French university. They will also have to pass a civic knowledge test.

But Clooney admitted that his French is still poor. “I love French culture, and your language, even if I’m still bad at it after 400 days of training courses,” the actor told English-language radio RTL in December.

His wife is an international human rights lawyer, holds dual British and Lebanese citizenship, and speaks fluent French.

Clooney bought Domaine du Canadel, a former wine estate, near the town of Brignoles in Provence, in 2021. He said this was where his family was “the happiest”.

Nunez, the interior minister, said he was “very happy” that the actor and his family became French, saying the country was lucky to have them.

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the allocation of a passport to the couple “meets the conditions set by law” for naturalization, after “following strict procedures including security investigations, regulatory naturalization interviews in the province, and payment of tax stamps.”

The ministry added that the Clooneys “contribute through their distinguished service to the international influence and cultural standing of France” through the role of actor in the film industry, which “will only contribute to preserving and strengthening France’s position in this essential economic sector.”

The ministry added that Amal Clooney is a “famous lawyer” and “regularly cooperates with academic institutions and international organizations based in France.”

About 48,800 people obtained French citizenship by decree in 2024, according to Interior Ministry figures.

Clooney isn’t the only one who wants a French passport: Hollywood director Jim Jarmusch announced on Friday that he has also applied, telling French radio that he wants “a place where I can escape the United States.”

Agence France-Presse contributed to the preparation of this report