International star George Clooney tells Al-Mawed: I will not run for the presidency of the United States of America
I am afraid of the spotlight for my children.
My son eats with appetite and my daughter is delicate and they do not look alike.
- My wife Amal and I are building a school in Lebanon that will accommodate five thousand students because education is the best way to fight terrorism.
Many artists, when they reach the top, you find that they are very arrogant, to the point that they believe that they are above the rest of humanity, and of course you do not find this in George Clooney at all. When I met him recently, and it is not the first time I have met him, but I have met him several times before, this shining star, George Clooney, is the epitome of modesty and speaks with such simplicity and spontaneity that you forget that you are addressing one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, and this is the distinctive quality that I can describe George Clooney with. When we met, and after the mutual greeting, I asked him about his life now with his two children, as I had not seen him since he became a father. I asked him if his life had changed, and he said that he felt responsible for his two children and that before that he did not worry about anything, unlike now, as he always thinks about what the future of his children will be. He continued by saying that the financial aspect is not his obsession, but other very important factors that they can address and others that are beyond their ability, and beyond the ability of anyone, from diseases to earthquakes to wars. What also concerns him is that the life of his two children will be in exile, as when he goes out with them, several photographers gather around them trying to take their pictures and follow them, unlike most of his friends who go wherever they want without being pursued. George Clooney continued talking about his two children, saying that from the financial aspect, they will have the ability to buy anything and can spend on their hobbies as they want, and it is his (George Clooney) duty to teach them that in this world there are those who die of hunger or do not have a blanket to sleep under, and that it is their duty to do what they can to help. These people, this is very important, and then he continued and said that this is not only what his sons will be responsible for, but in his view it is the responsibility of every American or person in this world. In his view, the American government is on the right track, meaning the courts and the Supreme Court in America, and he said: “But it is moving very slowly and we must find a way so that we can expedite the implementation of the procedures of the Supreme Court and its decisions, for example the cases brought before the “Supreme Court” now to prevent the implementation of the ban on Muslims from some countries traveling to America, as this decision may be illegal, its procedures are moving at a snail’s pace, so there are many things that we must correct, and our children may also be responsible for correcting these conditions.”
I asked him about the twins’ health and wished them good health. He said: “Yes, one of them, the boy, eats with a very big appetite, so much so that he is much bigger than his sister. She is delicate in her movements and her eyes resemble her mother’s eyes. The twins are completely different, and I think this is normal, but I noticed it now for the first time!!”
Here, for some reason, the conversation turned to racism in America and the reason for the demonstrations that took place from some parties that support and advocate for whites only. He said: “The President of the United States is the president of all of us and must bring us together. This is how it should be, even for those who did not vote for him. Black lives are equally important to the KKK (a racist extremist group for whites only, which is against blacks and has sometimes been criminal against blacks).” Then he continued and said, “There is a difference. The blacks who own the “Black Lives Matter” group demand their rights, even those who have committed acts of violence. Now the KKK considers whites as a superior element “White Supremacy” over others – this is unreasonable – that the President of the United States had to say that the two points of view are not equal in importance and validity.” Then he said that his father, who was a journalist, received news that there was a demonstration by a group of white extremists in the city of “Cincinnati, Ohio.” He went there and found that there were about eight of them shouting at the top of their voices against blacks, and on the other side about 1,500 thousand and five hundred people confronted them and tried to silence them, and that was in 1979, so there is no comparison between these two ideas, and the President of the Republic should have made that clear instead of equating them.
Here I asked him, do you intend to nominate yourself for the position of President of the Republic? He said that he was busy and hoped that the American people would find the right person to fill this important position - the Democratic Party (the party to which George Clooney, as well as Obama and Hillary Clinton, belong) has not yet found anyone to carry out this important task. He continued: “I hope that we find that person, and if we do, I will support him and I hope that we succeed in that. Two days ago, I spoke with former President Barack Obama and with Joe Biden (who was Vice President Obama when he was president), and all the talk was about who would be the Democratic Party candidate in the next phase, and we are seriously looking into that. I know that some are trying to push me to nominate myself, but I know that I am not the right person for this position. However, if we find this person, I will support him with all my capabilities so that what happened in the days of former President George Bush does not happen, as he was elected for the second time after the end of the first phase of his election. Here I said to myself at that time, “How could voters make a mistake in this regard again?” That is, how did they elect George Bush for the second time? I hope that this will not happen with the current President Donald Trump, even though there is a possibility that he will not…” President Trump completes his statutory four-year term.
I asked about his wife, Amal Alamuddin, and he said that she was fine and had returned to her work with the United Nations.
I asked him about the news that he is hosting an Iraqi young man in his home and is this true? He said: “Yes, this young man is very smart and wants to complete his education. I will not mention his name because he still has family in Iraq and they may be harmed if he finds out. He lives in my home in Kentucky.” George Clooney says: “My father says about this young man that he is the son he always wanted to have. He laughs at all the jokes my father tells, which I have heard over and over again. But this young man makes my father happy because he listens to all the stories and conversations my father tells and repeats them, but for this young man they are new and make my father happy to tell them.” Then he said: “We must help these children and we are now building a school in Lebanon that contains approximately 5,000 five thousand students because education is very important and is the best way to fight ISIS and terrorism. We hope to increase the capacity of this school in the future to contain a larger number than that. Lebanon is a country of about four million people and has received about two million immigrants. Compared to the United States, it is as if we have taken in a hundred million.” Immigrant, so the school was in Lebanon and of course because my wife knows very well the situation there, and we hope to repeat that in other places.
Hollywood - By George Doss