On Sunday, legendary actor Robert De Niro criticized President Donald Trump at a "Rise Up" event in New York City where he joined other celebrities and activists in speaking out against the Trump administration.
In particular, De Niro decided to use his right to free speech to criticize Trump for recently claiming that he doesn't "think about Americans' financial situation" when negotiating terms with Iran.
He said:
“I’m pretty close to being a free speech absolutist―even speech I don’t like, and there’s plenty of that around. So when I hear something I don’t like, I use my own free speech to respond.”
“When I hear Trump say, as he did a few days ago, ‘I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation, not even a little bit,’ I say, ‘Shut the f**k up.'"
You can hear what he said in the video below.
The audience erupted in applause when De Niro referenced the famous "two words" scene from the 1988 film Midnight Run.
Using the bit to mock Trump, De Niro quoted several of the president's claims—including Trump's remark that he "love[d] the inflation" and his repeated assertion that he won the 2020 election—before prompting the crowd to respond in unison with the punchline, "Shut the f**k up!" Each call-and-response drew enthusiastic reactions from the audience.
People loved De Niro's words.
De Niro, one of the more prominent anti-Trumpers in Hollywood, delivered a similarly hard-hitting message aimed at Trump during The New Republic's "Stop Trump Summit" in New York City during the 2024 election cycle.
De Niro was not physically present at the event due to his recovery from COVID-19. Instead, he had former Trump administration official Miles Taylor read his remarks to the audience.
In his message, De Niro made a passionate case, drawing on his extensive experience playing various film roles, including gangsters and criminals. The essence of his message was that Trump is not merely a bad figure but an evil one.
De Niro said Trump, who was twice impeached, is "still a fool." But he nonetheless warned Americans that evil "thrives in the shadow of dismissive mockery, which is why we must take the danger of Donald Trump very seriously."
The actor has also compared Trump to notorious fascists Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, noting that Trump's supporters "might think [backing Trump is] gonna make their life better or they just wanna f**k with the rest of the country."
