Donald Trump will never be elected US president, George Clooney said Thursday as a new film tapping into the anger fueling the bombastic tycoon’s campaign premiered in Cannes.
“Money Monster”, directed by Oscar-winning actress Jodie Foster, is a thundering indictment of casino capitalism starring Clooney as a Wall Street television pundit taken hostage live on air by an “ordinary Joe” who has lost everything on the stock market.
The thriller takes aim not just at the world of finance but also at reality television and rolling news.
Clooney said they had helped destroy real journalism, and blamed them for propelling populist politicians like Trump towards the White House.
“There is not going to be a President Donald Trump. That is not going to happen because fear is not going to drive our country,” the actor told reporters at the Cannes Film Festival.
“We are not going to be scared of Muslims or immigrants or women. We are not actually afraid of anything.”
Trump’s campaign has been driven by a string of incendiary comments on Muslims, immigration and women.
“Trump is a result of all the news programmes that don’t follow up and ask the questions,” said Clooney, who plays a cynical cable news tipster who begins to question himself after a gun is held to his head.
“24 hour news doesn’t mean you get more news, you just get the same news more,” he claimed.
“They can put up their ratings with an empty podium saying Donald Trump is about to speak rather than take 30 seconds and talk about refugees, the biggest crisis in the world,” said Clooney, who has long campaigned to highlight migrants’ plight.
“Would all of the corporations fall on their knees if we did actually inform people?” asked the actor who hosted big-ticket fundraisers for Hillary Clinton last month in her bid to win the Democratic nomination for November’s election.
“We have lost the ability to tell the truth and get to the facts,” he claimed.
