Robert De Niro has once again criticised Donald Trump, explaining why he feels unable to love the United States under the current political atmosphere.
The Oscar-winning actor made the remarks during Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment, a New York event hosted by the revived Committee for the First Amendment, the organisation founded in the 1940s to defend free speech. The concert took place at The Town Hall in Manhattan on Sunday, June 14, 2026, the same day as Flag Day and Trump’s 80th birthday, when the president was also drawing attention for a White House UFC event staged as part of America’s 250th anniversary celebrations.
De Niro has repeatedly spoken out against Trump in recent years. During an earlier appearance on The Best People With Nicole Wallace podcast, he accused the president of inflicting serious damage on the country.
“The story is our country, and Trump is destroying it, and who knows what his reasons are, but it’s sick, it’s f***** up,” the 82-year-old said, before adding: “We have to save the country.”
He also branded Trump an opponent of America itself.
“Let’s not kid ourselves. It’s that simple. Everybody has to stick together to get them out and get back on track.”
Trump responded swiftly at the time, using Truth Social to describe De Niro as having an ‘Extremely low IQ’ and being ‘demented’.
At the New York event, De Niro tied his criticism of Trump to a broader argument about patriotism and constitutional rights, saying that loving the country in its current state felt impossible to him.
“I hate to say it, but loving our country is starting to sound like an abused spouse saying they love their abuser.
“I can’t love a country that starts stupid and inhumane wars, killing thousands of innocents and indirectly causing the deaths and suffering of millions more.
“I can’t love a country that takes healthcare away from millions of people and uses that money to enrich their pals in the Trump-Epstein class.”
He then continued with further criticism of both the administration and the wider political system.
“I can’t love a country that sends out masked militias to shoot citizens in the streets, torture our neighbours, and separate families.
“I can’t love a country that’s led by a racist, misogynist, xenophobic tyrant. And let me just say it: I can’t love the country that’s led by Donald Trump and his sycophant Congress.”
De Niro finished by making clear that, in his view, reclaiming the country is the goal.
“I want to love my country again. I want my country back.”
The event also drew support from other high-profile figures in the arts and activism world, with organisers describing it as a show of solidarity for speech, press, assembly, religion and protest rights.
The White House hit back after the remarks, with spokesperson Steven Cheung dismissing the actor as irrelevant.
“washed-up”
Cheung also said:
“Now, he just be-clowns himself by spewing hate speech and inciting violence against others. Instead of embarrassing himself every time he speaks, he should seek immediate treatment for a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his peanut sized brain