Trump calls De Niro ‘sick, demented’ after actor’s criticism

Washington, United States, Feb 26, 2026 (AFP) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday (February 25, 2026) called screen legend Robert De Niro “sick and demented” after the actor urged Americans to “resist” his administration.

The “Taxi Driver” and “The Godfather” star is a vocal critic of Trump, and used his lifetime achievement award speech at the Cannes Film Festival last year to slam the “philistine” President.

“Trump Deranged Robert De Niro, another sick and demented person with, I believe, an extremely Low IQ, who has absolutely no idea what he is doing or saying — some of which is seriously CRIMINAL!” Mr. Trump wrote in a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform.

Mr. Trump also attacked Democratic lawmakers Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib in the post.

His remarks came after De Niro criticised the President in a podcast aired on Monday (February 23, 2026), saying: “Everybody has to stick together to get them out and get back on track.”

“The story is our country, and Trump is destroying it, and who knows what his reasons are, but it’s sick,” the 82-year-old actor told “The Best People with Nicolle Wallace” podcast.

“People have to resist, resist, resist, resist, resist. That’s the only way.”