Lifelong Democrat George Clooney was undoubtably upset that Kamala Harris lost the presidential election. But the A-lister isn’t dwelling in his negative emotions.
“What am I supposed to do — storm the f–king Capitol? It didn’t work out, that’s what happens. It’s part of democracy,” Clooney told Stephen Colbert on Tuesday night. “Most of us still like each other. We’re going to get through it.”
Clooney then brought up his son, who loves to play chess but is often beaten by other kids. Whenever that happens, Clooney tells him not to get upset but to instead tell his rivals, “Good game and I’ll get you next time.”
“You’ve got to live by those rules, which is ‘All right, good for you. I hope you do well because our country needs it. And then we’ll meet you in three and a half years and see where we go next.’ That’s part of the thing,” he said.
In response, Colbert knocked on the wood of his desk. “You play by the rules, but both sides have to agree there should be rules is what I would say,” Colbert said.
The actor was on the CBS late night show to promote “Good Night, and Good Luck,” the stage adaptation of his critically acclaimed film of the same name. The play sees Clooney make his Broadway debut as Edward R. Murrow, the legendary broadcast journalist who forever changed the medium at the height of McCarthyism. His unapologetic and fearless reporting in the midst of a wave of paranoia eventually led to both the U.S. government and his employers turning on him.
“Forever we’ve had this issue, which is power kind of hates the fourth estate. They hate journalism,” Clooney said. “My father’s an anchorman and a newsman, and we’ve always believed in the idea of when the other three estates — the judiciary branch and the executive branch — when they all fail you, you really need that fourth estate. It has to be the people who can hold people to account.”
The actor went on to describe “Good Night, and Good Luck” as “a moment of us at our best.” “You’re never at your best when it’s easy,” Clooney continued. “Being on the right side of history is not fun in the moment when you do it. It’s nice later.” Watch the full interview above.
