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At a New York free speech concert on Sunday, Robert De Niro criticized U.S. President Donald Trump and led the crowd in a repeated chant of "shut the f--- up" in response to several recent statements by the president.
Speaking at the "Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment," De Niro opened by framing his remarks around free expression. "I'm pretty close to being a free speech absolutist," he said, "even (for) speech I don't like, and there's plenty of that around. So when I hear something I don't like, I use my own free speech to respond."
De Niro cited two statements attributed to Trump as prompts for the chant: one in which the president said he does not consider Americans' financial situation "not even a little bit," and another in which Trump stated, "I love the inflation." De Niro also cited Trump's claims about the 2020 election.
The actor drew a parallel between national pride and domestic abuse, stating, "I hate to say it, but loving our country is starting to sound like an abused spouse saying they love their abuser."
De Niro listed several grievances, stating he could not love a country that "starts stupid and inhumane wars, killing thousands of innocents and takes health care away from millions of people" to benefit what he called the "Trump-Epstein class," or "sends out masked militias to shoot citizens in the streets, torture our neighbors, and separate families."
He concluded, "I want to love my country again. I want my country back."
De Niro has frequently engaged in public disputes with Trump. Earlier this year, the actor called the president "an idiot" during a podcast appearance. Trump responded by describing De Niro as "deranged, sick and demented," and possessing "an extremely low IQ."
De Niro's phrase from the event echoes a scene from the 1988 film "Midnight Run," in which his character repeatedly uses the same expression.
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