Hollywood veteran Robert De Niro has never been one to pull his punches when it comes to Donald Trump, but his latest public broadside signals a deeper, more existential rift between the iconic actor and his homeland.
Speaking on Sunday at a New York City event titled “Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment,” the 82-year-old Goodfellas star delivered a searing indictment of the current administration, confessing that he is struggling to love the very nation that granted him his immense wealth and global fame.
For De Niro, the relationship between America and its people has taken a toxic turn under Trump’s leadership.
“I hate to say it, but loving our country is starting to sound like an abused spouse saying they love their abuser,” De Niro told the crowd, in a raw moment that quickly went viral across social media.
De Niro: I hate to say it, but loving our country is starting to sound like an abused spouse saying they love their abuser.
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… pic.twitter.com/T4ZHmwRBqx
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 15, 2026
The Oscar-winning actor did not mince words, labeling the President a “racist, misogynist, xenophobic tyrant.” Over the course of his remarks, De Niro painted a bleak picture of a nation led astray, attributing widespread global and domestic suffering directly to the White House.
His grievances spanned geopolitical conflict, domestic policy, and the economy.
“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,” De Niro said. He then pivoted to the administration’s healthcare and economic policies, accusing leadership of stripping medical care from millions of citizens to “enrich their pals in the Trump-Epstein class.”
The actor’s critique also took aim at federal immigration enforcement and the handling of civil unrest. He condemned what he described as “masked militias” deployed to “shoot citizens in the streets, torture our neighbors, and separate families”—a fierce, stylized reference to the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and federal law enforcement.
Ultimately, De Niro argued that the rot extends beyond the Oval Office itself, drawing a straight line from the presidency to the halls of Capitol Hill.
“And let me just say it: I can’t love a country that’s led by Donald Trump and his sycophant Congress,” he added.
This explosive rhetoric is par for the course for De Niro, who has served as one of Hollywood’s most vocal and unrelenting anti-Trump critics for the better part of a decade. The bad blood stretches back to the dawn of Trump’s political career. Ahead of the 2016 election, the actor famously unloaded on the then-candidate, branding him a “punk,” a “dog,” and a “pig.”
In fact, De Niro’s frustration previously escalated to fantasies of physical confrontation. “I’d like to punch him in the face,” he declared at the time.
Years later, with Trump in power, the Hollywood heavyweight’s anger has clearly not cooled; it has merely evolved from a desire for a fistfight into a profound heartbreak over the state of the union.
Robert De Niro on Donald Trump: “He’s a punk. He’s a dog. He’s a pig. He’s a con. A bullshit artist. A mutt who doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Doesn’t do his homework. Doesn’t care. Doesn’t pay his taxes. He’s an idiot. He’s a national disaster. He’s an embarrassment to… pic.twitter.com/p3Qg1S5Tcg
— Marco Foster (@MarcoFoster_) September 6, 2025
At the 2018 Tony Awards, De Niro brought that same explosive animosity to the national stage. Standing before a live broadcast audience, the actor raised both fists and bypassed any nuanced critique for a direct, profane declaration: “I’m gonna say one thing. F*** Trump!”