Robert De Niro declared Sunday he cannot love his country while President Trump leads it, comparing American patriotism under the current administration to a victim defending an abusive spouse.
The 82-year-old actor made the remarks at Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment, a benefit concert held Sunday at The Town Hall in New York City and organized by Jane Fonda’s Committee for the First Amendment. The event also featured Bette Midler, Patti Smith, Julia Roberts and Joy Reid, among others.
Mr. De Niro told the audience that a line in a recent open letter he had signed — stating that signatories “love our country regardless of political affiliation” — gave him pause. “The phrase, ’We all love our country,’ stuck in my throat,” he said, according to Fox News. “Because our country isn’t so lovable right now. I hate to say it, but loving our country is starting to sound like an abused spouse saying they love their abuser.”
He went on to list specific objections to the current administration before concluding: “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.”
Mr. De Niro closed his remarks on a conciliatory note, saying he wants to love his country again.
“For most of my life, of course, I did love this country,” he said. “I want my country back.”
White House communications director Steven Cheung dismissed the actor’s comments in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“Robert DeNiro is a washed-up has-been who hasn’t been relevant in 30 years,” Mr. Cheung said. “Now, he just beclowns himself by spewing hate speech and inciting violence against others.”
Proceeds from the concert benefited the Committee for the First Amendment, which Ms. Fonda relaunched in October 2025. The group draws on the legacy of the original 1947 committee, whose members included Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall and Ms. Fonda’s father, Henry Fonda.
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