Robert De Niro on why he’s ‘not despairing’ over Trump’s presidency

‘Taxi Driver’ actor has been a fierce longtime critic of the president

Robert De Niro has said he is not despairing over Trump’s second term as president in the hope that “things will right themselves”.

The Oscar-winning actor, 81, has been a longtime critic of Trump and clashed with his supporters outside his hush money trial last year. Most recently, De Niro called him a “jerk”, “clown” and “idiot”.

Speaking in a new interview with The Guardian, the actor was uncharacteristically muted on the topic when he was asked if he was hopeful or despairing since Trump’s inauguration in January.

“I’m not despairing,” he replied. “Because I always look at the bright side and hope that things will right themselves and that people will appreciate goodness and empathy and will try to do the right thing.”

“Some people look at [things] differently,” he continued. “They have different values. That’s disturbing to me. I don’t understand it. But I just have to look at things in an optimistic way.”

Interviewer Xan Brooks noted in the article that the strict terms of the interview with Netflix – tied to the release De Niro’s new political thriller Zero Day – included “no personal or political questions”, which might explain De Niro’s more muted, and certainly less colourful, thoughts on Trump’s presidency.

Speaking in a pre-election interview in November on Max’s Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?, De Niro – who was a vocal supporter of Kamala Harris’s election campaign – branded Trump and his allies as “not real Republicans”.

Wallace went on to ask De Niro whether the actor had any run-ins with the real estate mogul in New York during the 1970s and 1980s, and whether there was any personal animosity between the pair.

Robert De Niro and Donald Trump (Getty)

“No. I never wanted anything to do with him,” responded De Niro. “He’s a jerk, an idiot, who wants to meet a clown like that?

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“You’ve got to help everybody. People are going to get overlooked. That happens, but at least you have somebody who’s sensitive to the condition of the country, the people. And I’m not saying this like this, because it’s Kamala Harris, but it is. We need someone like her to do it. She’ll make mistakes. Of course, everybody does, but we need somebody with the right intentions, this guy does not have the right intentions, and everybody knows that. It’s insanity. Period.”

Speaking outside Donald Trump’s “hush money” trial in June 2024, De Niro called Trump “tyrant” and warned of the consequences if he were to be elected for a second time.

Robert De Niro in ‘Zero Day’ on Netflix (Netflix)

“When Trump ran in 2016 it was like a joke,” he said in the speech. “This buffoon running for president. No, never could happen. We have forgotten the lessons of history that showed us other clowns who weren’t taken seriously until they became vicious dictators. With Trump, we have a second chance, and no one is laughing now.”

Trump and De Niro have previously exchanged blows in the past as the actor was a fierce critic of the president’s policies in his first term, while The Apprentice star has branded him a “loser” in return.

“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 wrote in a 2023 post.