George Clooney appeared to take a quiet dig at Donald Trump while on stage at last night’s Golden Globe Awards.

The 83rd annual ceremony, hosted for the second consecutive year by comedian Nikki Glaser, took place on Sunday evening (11 January) in Los Angeles, drawing stars from across the globe to celebrate the year’s best film and television achievements.

In the film categories, One Battle After Another and Hamnet emerged as major winners, while Netflix’s Adolescence continued its strong run on the television side.

Clooney, 64, had been nominated for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy but lost out to Timothée Chalamet for Marty Supreme.

However, he did take the stage alongside Don Cheadle to present the award for Best Motion Picture (Drama), which ultimately went to Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet.

Before announcing the winner, Clooney surprised the audience by speaking briefly in French—something that quickly caught attention following news that he had recently become a French citizen. According to PEOPLE, he greeted the crowd with “Bonsoir, mes amis,” before adding, “C’est un honneur d’être ici,” meaning “It’s an honour to be here.”

The moment sparked reactions online, with some viewers interpreting it as a subtle jab at Donald Trump amid their recent public feud over Clooney’s French citizenship. One social media user wrote that Clooney had turned his Golden Globes appearance into a quiet swipe at Trump, while another simply questioned why the actor was suddenly speaking French.

Clooney, his wife Amal, and their eight-year-old twins, Ella and Alexander, were recently confirmed as French citizens.

The family purchased a farm in France in 2021 and have described it as their main residence, citing the country as a better environment for raising their children. Their citizenship was officially announced in the Journal Officiel, France’s government record.

The news did not sit well with Trump, who used New Year’s Eve to post a scathing message on Truth Social criticizing the Clooneys, France’s immigration policies, and Clooney’s political views. Trump accused the actor of being a poor political commentator and mocked his film career, concluding with his trademark “Make America Great Again” slogan.

Clooney later responded to Deadline with a pointed remark of his own, referencing the upcoming U.S. midterm elections: “I totally agree with the current president. We have to make America great again. We’ll start in November.”

And with that, the public back-and-forth between the two figures appears far from over.