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Robert De Niro launches tirade against Trump's children: 'I'd disown them'

'I don't want my kids to take this the wrong way,' the Oscar-winner said

Jacob Stolworthy
Tuesday 17 December 2019 09:19 GMT
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Robert De Niro says he'd 'disown' Trump's children if they were his own

Robert De Niro targeted Trump’s children during an appearance on a US chat show, saying he would have “disowned” Ivanka, Don Jr, Eric if they were his own.

The actor, who featured on ABC show The View to promote Netflix drama The Irishman, said: “I don’t want my kids to take this the wrong way, but if my kids did what these kids did, I wouldn’t want to be related to them.”

He continued: “I would disown them – I’d have a serious talk with them.”

While he described disowning his own children as an “impossibility”, the actor suggested some of his six children disagree with how “strongly” he feels about Trump.

Ivanka works as an unpaid advisor to the White House, while Donald Jr and Eric frequently appear on the campaign trail or news segments in their father’s place.

De Niro said that he thinks Trump is worse than any of characters he’s played, including Taxi Driver‘s Travis Bickle.

“To me, he is,” De Niro told host Joy Behar. “Because he has no understanding that I can see of the outside world other than anything around him. He has no idea of what his purpose in life as the president should be, and that is to pull the country together, to be for the people, to heal wounds – not to open them up and pour salt on them.”

Last week, the actor told New York Times Magazine he said he would never play Trump on-screen because there’s “nothing redeemable about” his character.

Ahead of The Irishman’s release, De Niro told The Independent: “Trump cares only about one thing: he wants to be the boss. He will be the boss no matter what it takes.

“If he did win the next election, there’s definitely more chance of him allowing us to get into a war, and if you’re a president in a war, it’s more likely a chance you would stay for a third term. Imagine him in a third term.”

Last year, Trump responded to De Niro’s frequent criticism by calling him a “very low IQ individual”.

The Irishman is available to stream on Netflix now.

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