Amal Clooneyhad critical words for PresidentDonald Trumpas she spoke about press freedom during a conference on Wednesday.
The international human rights lawyer, 41, gave a speech at the Global Conference for Media Freedom in London earlier this week and, though she did not directly name Trump, she referenced the fourth president of the U.S., James Madison, who emphasized the importance of the free press early on in the nation’s history.
“Today, the country of James Madison has a leader who vilifies the media, making honest journalists all over the world more vulnerable to abuse,” Clooney said.
She continued: “With authoritarianism, isolationism and nationalism gaining ground, the relevance of international institutions and respect for intentional norms are seriously in question.”
Clooney also remarked that “world leaders responded with little more than than a collective shrug” to the death ofJamal Khashoggi, theWashington Postcolumnist who was killed after walking into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
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This isn’t the first time Clooney has spoken out against Trump. In December, the human rights lawyer made similar remarks about press freedom at the United Nations Correspondents Association Awards in New York.
“The U.S. President has given such [autocratic] regimes a green light and labeled the press in this country the ‘enemy of the people,'” she said at the time, according toUSA Today.
Clooney and her husbandGeorge Clooneyrecently spent time with Trump’s predecessors, former presidentBarack Obamaand former First LadyMichelle Obama, at at the Clooneys’ villa in Italy.
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Anyone else looking to double date with the Clooneys is in luck — as part of a campaign to raise donations for theClooney Foundation for JusticethroughOmaze, the famous couple is opening the doors of their luxurious villa on Lake Como to one lucky couple, in a new sweepstakes.
“That’s right, to benefit the Clooney Foundation for Justice, we’re inviting you and a guest to go on a double date with Amal, a world-renowned human rights lawyer, law school professor and a leading thinker on the concept of justice throughout the world and me… an actor,” George joked ina video announcing the contest back in May.
source: people.com
