Actor Robert De Niro told attendees at a First Amendment-themed protest concert in New York City on Sunday that he cannot love the United States while President Donald Trump remains in office.
Speaking at the “Rise Up, Sing Out” event at Town Hall in Manhattan, De Niro criticized Trump, Congress and several administration policies, arguing that the country has moved away from values he once admired.
“Our country isn’t so lovable right now,” De Niro told the audience. “I hate to say it, but loving our country is starting to sound like an abused spouse saying they love their abuser.”
The actor went on to criticize the administration’s foreign policy, healthcare policies and immigration enforcement efforts before concluding that he could not support the country under its current leadership.
“I can’t love a country that’s led by Donald Trump,” De Niro said. “And a sycophant Congress.”
The remarks drew applause from attendees at the event, which was organized in response to Trump’s UFC event on the White House lawn.
De Niro contrasted his current views with his feelings about the country earlier in his life.
“For most of my life, of course, I did love this country,” he said. “The United States of America welcomed my immigrant ancestors. It gave me, my family, and my fellow citizens such rich opportunities and extraordinary freedoms.”
The actor said he hopes the country will eventually return to what he characterized as its founding ideals.
“I want to love my country again. I want my country back,” he told the audience.
The comments are consistent with De Niro’s long-running criticism of Trump. The actor has been one of the president’s most consistent opponents in Hollywood and has frequently used public appearances to criticize the administration and encourage political activism.
During a promotional Q&A for Francis Ford Coppola’s 2024 film Megalopolis, the actor repeatedly steered the discussion toward politics, urging audiences to “beat Trump” and warning that the country could not afford another Trump presidency. Even as Coppola attempted to refocus the conversation on the film’s themes and the ability of people with differing viewpoints to work together, De Niro returned to criticizing Trump, at one point declaring that the president “wants to destroy the country.”
Sunday’s remarks echoed comments De Niro made at a Washington event earlier this year, though this time he went further by explicitly stating that he cannot love the country while Trump remains president.
“Let me ask you, can you love a country where our neighbors are shot down in the streets by masked government thugs?” De Niro said on Feb. 24. “Can you love a country that denies healthcare for tens of millions of our fellow citizens?”
De Niro’s comments reflect a wider divide over patriotism in modern American politics. According to a recent Gallup poll, only 58% of Americans say they are “extremely” or “very” proud to be American; the lowest level Gallup has recorded in more than two decades. The decline was concentrated among Democrats, whose expressions of national pride have fluctuated significantly depending on political circumstances, while Republican respondents have generally reported consistently high levels of pride regardless of which party occupies the White House.
READ NEXT: Robert De Niro Derails Q&A On New Movie With Anti-Trump Tirade
