Robert De Niro on Trump’s America: ‘Loving our country sounds like an abused spouse saying they love their abuser’
Robert De Niro has hit out once again at President Donald Trump during an event in New York over the weekend.
On June 14th, De Niro made the remarks at Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert, which saw him lead the crowd through a chant of “shut the fuck up” aimed at Trump, a reference to a line from his 1988 movie Midnight Run.
In his speech, the Oscar-winning actor firstly outlined his stance on free speech, insisting (via The Guardian), “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.”
He then used his First Amendment right to speak out against Trump, stating, “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 fuck up.'”
This then prompted the crowd to join in with him as he said “shut the fuck up” again, when he added, “Trump said he won the 2020 election. Ready? Shut the fuck up!”
De Niro also compared Trump’s relationship with Americans to an abused spouse and their abuser, telling those in New York, “I hate to say it, but loving our country is starting to sound like an abused spouse saying they love their abuser.”
He added of the administration, “I can’t love a country that starts stupid and inhumane wars, killing thousands of innocents and indirectly causing the deaths and suffering of millions more.”
The actor continued, “I can’t love a country that takes healthcare away from millions of people and uses that money to enrich their pals in the Trump-Epstein class. I can’t love a country that sends out masked militias to shoot citizens in the streets, torture our neighbours, and separate families.”
Going one step further, De Niro added, “I can’t love a country that’s led by a racist, misogynist, xenophobic tyrant. And let me just say it: I can’t love the country that’s led by Donald Trump and his sycophant Congress.”
The 82-year-old concluded by stating, “I want to love my country again. I want my country back.”
In February, Trump took to Truth Social to hit back at De Niro, who he said was a “sick and demented person with, I believe, an extremely Low IQ, who has absolutely no idea what he is doing or saying — some of which is seriously CRIMINAL.”
A few days prior, De Niro had appeared on The Best People With Nicole Wallace podcast by MS Now and claimed Trump was “destroying” America, calling the situation “fucked up”.
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