\u201cI want my country back,\u201d the actor, who starred in Martin Scorsese\u2019s 1976 psychological drama Taxi Driver, said at one point, then calling for Trump to be \u201cneutralized.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cIt has to be neutralized by the people, who say, \u2018Wait a minute, our rights are being trampled on, and we have to stand up!\u2019 Period.\u201d <\/p>\n
![\"TOPSHOT](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/673W4VGOMVFTJGPXOQW27NZE3U.jpg\")
DeNiro outside a Manhattan Criminal Court in 2024, as Trump attends his criminal trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments. CHARLY TRIBALLEAU\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n
Earlier in the sit-down DeNiro grew angry when he discussed Trump\u2019s reaction to dissent. \u201cHe\u2019s an idiot. He\u2019s a… we got to get rid of him. He\u2019s gonna ruin the country. Everything that this country has worked for and represents.\u201d <\/p>\n
Things became emotional when Wallace asked, \u201cYou\u2019re always about lifting up everybody around you. Why is that?\u201d <\/p>\n
DeNiro, often cast as a tough guy, immediately showed his more tender side, sobbing as he declared, \u201cYou have to lift people up. You have to bring them together. You can\u2019t divide people, you can\u2019t win that way. It\u2019s a no-win situation.\u201d <\/p>\n
Steering his point towards Trump, he added, \u201cAnd look what we have. Look who we have there. It\u2019s almost like a destiny to have this thing there, destroying, attempting to destroy this country and maybe not even understanding why. So it\u2019s up to us to protect the country that we love.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wallace asked, \u201cThis is the moment that it goes one way or the other. You think it\u2019s going the other way?\u201d <\/p>\n
DeNiro, whose sobbing had abated slightly, said solemnly, \u201cI don\u2019t know. All I know is people have to resist, resist, resist.\u201d <\/p>\n
He added, \u201cThere\u2019s no easy way. It\u2019s not going to come to you easy. You know, there\u2019s a time when you know in your own life and your own survival, you better do this. You better jump and run through the fire because if you don\u2019t run through the fire, you\u2019re not getting out. And that\u2019s what we have to do.\u201d <\/p>\n
![\"DeNiro](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/NQ6GLCEI65BJROMTDNC2LUEBMA.jpg\")
DeNiro and Trump often clash. SAUL LOEB\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n
Also on Monday, the Academy Award-winning actor, producer and director dialled into The Weeknight<\/a> to discuss Trump\u2019s State of the Union address on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cWe gotta get rid of this idiot,\u201d he told the hosts, later declaring, \u201cWe\u2019re in a state of lunacy.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re dealing with a clown who has brought the rest of the circus into the White House. This is insanity, and we\u2019ve gotta straighten it all out.\u201d <\/p>\n He concluded: \u201cWe will vanquish, we will get rid of this guy.\u201d <\/p>\n DeNiro has made no secret of his feelings towards Trump over the years. In May, he issued a call to action for anyone disturbed by the Kennedy Center\u2019s right-wing makeover<\/a> byTrump, whom he called \u201cAmerica\u2019s philistine president.\u201d<\/p>\n While accepting the Palme d\u2019Or lifetime achievement award at the Cannes Film Festival, the actor warned that artists and musicians are under threat. <\/p>\n \u201cIn my country, we are fighting like hell for the democracy we once took for granted, and that affects all of us,\u201d De Niro said. <\/p>\n In September, DeNiro joined Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s \u201ccomeback\u201d show for a brutal parody of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and the MAGA attack on free speech.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"Robert](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/LIUMCQBZA5BPBIGQ66NDN7OINQ.JPG\")
De Niro called out Trump when he accepted a lifetime achievement award at last year’s Cannes Film Festival. Sarah Meyssonnier\/REUTERS <\/p>\n