George Clooney slammed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for having no “sense of decency” after he appeared to mock a Canadian cadet’s weight online.

Asked for his take on American affairs while speaking Wednesday at the Venice Film Festival, the staunch critic of President Donald Trump laughed and looked down as he replied, “Well, how do you see the States today?”

Calling himself an optimist, he diplomatically described the current political climate as “a moment of time that’s unfortunate.”

Though Clooney admitted that read might be an “understatement,” he told the room he believes the U.S. will make it through this era of tumult just like it survived political strife of the late ’60s and “other difficult times.”

Hinting at who may be to blame for the nation’s troubles, the Oscar winner went on, “There’s a great word: kakistocracy, which is a country run by the least qualified people. I think maybe we have a kakistocracy right now, but we’ll get through it.”

George Clooney says the U.S. is a “kakistocracy” right now, which means “a country run by the least qualified people”:“In 2028, with any luck, we’ll have some restoration into normalcy.” https://t.co/BeBcI9kJB5 pic.twitter.com/PUbXtwWzQB

While Clooney said he was hopeful this year’s midterm elections would offer a “check and balance” on Trump and Republicans’ power, he said MAGA’s tendency toward “being cruel and unkind” was more than concerning.

“You see what the secretary of defense just tweeted out a picture about women from the military in Canada?” he said, referring to Hegseth posting a photo of two people from British Columbia’s Vernon Cadet Training Centre, a program that instills leadership skills in teens, and writing “this is real” on X.

Clooney said the secretary’s blatant body-shaming left him asking, “What’s wrong with you? Where’s the sense of decency in all of this? And I’m ashamed of all of that.”

The actor was far from the only person appalled by Hegseth’s behavior.

A day after the post, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told the U.S. it’s time to stop trolling and focus on the real stakes of the trade war underway between the nations.

“When the Americans stop doing memes, stop throwing shade, stop trying to be tough and start being serious about having those discussions, we can have those discussions,” he said.

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