NEWSRobert De Niro Fights Back Tears as He Urges Americans to Resist Donald Trump
Actor Robert De Niro has been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump.
Feb. 24 2026, Published 5:28 p.m. ET
Award-wining 82-year-old actor Robert De Niro delivered a scathing critique of President Donald Trump in an emotional interview with MS NOW’s Nicolle Wallace on the Monday, February 23, episode of her "The Best People" podcast.
Both De Niro, one of the president’s most vocal critics, and Wallace, a former Republican strategist who worked for ex-President George W. Bush and on late Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, became visibly teary-eyed during the conversation.
De Niro's voice cracked as he spoke about the importance of "lifting people up" and his belief that Trump's leadership is "destroying this country.”
Robert De Niro Accuses Donald Trump of 'Destroying' the Country
Nicolle Wallace and Robert De Niro appeared to get emotional speaking about the state of the nation.
“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,” De Niro said. “We have to save this country.”
De Niro also expressed a stark warning, claiming that the 79-year-old president "will not leave" office at the end of his second term. The Taxi Driver star said it is "up to us to get rid of him" as he called for massive, Vietnam-era scale protests.
The outspoken actor referred to the POTUS as an "idiot" who lacks empathy and doesn’t understand humanity, expressing concern over the silence of billionaires who have capitulated the administration.
'We Are Americans Too'
Robert De Niro torched the hijacking of American flags by Donald Trump's supporters.
The Taxi Driver actor also criticized what he described as the exclusive use of American flags and MAGA imagery by Trump supporters, saying, "We are Americans too."
De Niro explicitly praised Democratic figures such as New York Attorney General Letitia James, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for their resistance to the administration.
“You have to — you have to lift people up,” the Goodfellas star declared, as his voiced cracked. “You have to bring them together. You can’t divide people; you can’t win that way.”
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Robert De Niro Called America Under Donald Trump a 'No-Win Situation'
Robert De Niro told Nicolle Wallace that it's 'up to us to protect the country.'
De Niro continued to wax politically on Trump’s divisive presidency.
“It’s a no-win situation, and look what we have, look who we have there, it’s almost like a destiny to have this thing there, destroying… attempting to destroy this country and maybe not even understanding why. So it’s up to us to protect the country,” he said.
'Resist, Resist, Resist'
An emotional Robert De Niro said people must resist to save the country from authoritarianism.
“You weren’t supposed to make me cry,” Wallace said, asking De Niro “You think it’s going the other way?” in terms of the country heading into authoritarianism.
De Niro was stumped, but said, “All I know is people have to have to resist, resist, resist."
“There’s no easy way. It’s not going to come to you easy. You know, there’s 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’t run through the fire, you’re not getting out, and that’s what we have to do," he concluded.
