S Poddar
Robert De Niro, the acting legend through leading roles in the movies Taxi Driver and Goodfellas, has increased his attack on Donald Trump, popularly known for calling him “a jerk” and “an idiot.” A long period of time has passed, but De Niro has been one of Trump’s harshest critics, voicing in a recent interview his concern that the former president, if re-elected, might never give up his power.
During an interview with Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? on streamer Max, De Niro was asked whether he thought Trump ever would willingly cede power at the end of a second term. Without missing a beat, the 81-year-old actor responded, “You know he won’t. He even said it. He’s never going to give it up. And anybody who deludes themselves into thinking that he is, shame on you.”
There is no secret about the despise De Niro has for Trump. Earlier this year, the actor got into an altercation with Trump supporters outside the former president’s hush money trial – a good example of how much he despises Trump’s politics and general behavior. Pressed in the interview if he ever had personally met Trump during the 1970s and 1980s in New York, De Niro confirmed there was no personal connection. “No. I never wanted anything to do with him,” he said. “He’s a jerk, an idiot. Who wants to meet a clown like that?”
Besides, criticisms by De Niro against Trump transcend personal dislike; he has always pointed out how Trump has failed to govern in the best interests of the people. Speaking to this, De Niro said, “You’ve got to help everybody. People are going to get overlooked. That happens, but at least you need someone who’s sensitive to the condition of the country, the people.” He added that having empathy and good intentions was a necessary ingredient in leaders, and insinuated that it was displayed in Kamala Harris, vice presidency notwithstanding. “I’m not saying it because it’s Kamala Harris, but we need someone like her to do it. She’s gonna make mistakes-everybody does-but we need somebody with the right intentions. This guy doesn’t have them, and everybody knows it. It’s insanity. Period.”
The conversation next moved to comparisons between Trump and the mobster characters De Niro has famously played in films like Goodfellas and Casino. Wallace asked if De Niro saw any comparisons between the way Trump acts and a gangster. “He thinks he’s a gangster,” De Niro said frankly. “He does everything like a gangster.” But De Niro qualified this by saying, in his opinion, Trump doesn’t even meet the bar of a genuine gangster. I don’t think gangsters in that world would think too much of him because. there’s honor among thieves. There’s honor in anything. If you don’t keep your word and do the right thing with people, no matter what profession you’re in, you’re going to get ostracized. And in that world, it’s a little harder.
It’s part of the bigger concern that De Niro has regarding leadership and integrity. He does not perceive Trump’s actions and demeanor to be in tune with what he would relate to, even in most dubious circles.
De Niro’s hostility toward the former president goes beyond his critiques of him as a political actor. He also criticizes those that enable Trump-confronting anyone directly related to media empires that have supported or mainly propelled Trump’s agenda. Just this week, it was reported that De Niro confronted heiress Elisabeth Murdoch-her father is media mogul Rupert Murdoch-about her father’s role in dictating political discourse. According to reports, De Niro then told Elisabeth Murdoch, “You can still love your father, but you can tell him he is wrong for what he is doing to this country.”
De Niro’s comments are representative of his resolute, no-nonsense posture toward Trump and anyone who enables him. Decades-long observer of power plays through the converging lenses of Hollywood and politics, De Niro doesn’t bite his tongue. His fears reflect a greater concern about the future of American democracy, about what kind of leadership will take the reins. This is evident, whether in his belief that Trump would refuse to give up power or his insistence on the need for empathetic, well-intentioned leaders like Kamala Harris. De Niro furthers the notion of America needing leaders who will put the people first rather than serve their own personal interests.
