Robert De Niro has hit out at Donald Trump again, saying the former US President “wants to destroy” America.
The actor appeared at the New York Film Festival with Megalopolis director Francis Ford Coppola and Spike Lee at the movie’s premiere last night (September 23).
During a Q&A, De Niro drew parallels between the film’s imagined world and America’s election-year anxiety.
He said (via Deadline): “I’m worried. I see the things in Francis’ film about that, the parallels and so on. To me, it’s not over until it’s over and we have to go at this wholeheartedly to beat the Republicans – those Republicans, they’re not real Republicans – and beat Trump. It’s that simple. We cannot have that type of person. Everybody has to get out there and vote.”
De Niro continued: “Just imagine Donald Trump directing this film. It’ll never go anywhere, from total craziness. He cannot do anything. He cannot hold anything together … He wants to destroy the country. And he could not do this movie. He could not do anything that has a structure.”
The actor has been a vocal critic of Trump since 2016. Earlier this year, he criticised the former US President during Trump’s Stormy Daniels trial.
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De Niro labelled Trump a “monster” and said he should never be allowed to be the president of the United States ever again.
He added: “People know that, and many people know that and are afraid to say something, but people have to speak up now and say, and acknowledge to themselves that he’s a monster. This is the moment of truth for this country. Period.”
The actor also branded Trump “stupid” at last year’s Cannes Film Festival while discussing his character in Killers Of The Flower Moon.
Later that year, Trump himself hit back at De Niro after the latter criticised him over a teleprompter at the Gotham Awards despite a section of his speech being “cut out”.
“Robert De Niro, whose acting talents have greatly diminished, with his reputation now shot, must even use a teleprompter for his foul and disgusting language, so disrespectful to our Country,” Trump said.
He continued: “He has become unwatchable both in movies, and with the FOOLS that destroyed the Academy Awards, bringing them from one of the top shows in the Country to a Low Rated afterthought. De Niro should focus on his life, which is a mess, rather than the lives of others. He has become a total loser, as the World watches, waits and laughs.”