Published on
As Donald Trump delivered his nearly two-hour State of the Union address, which came as his poll numbers on the economy plummet ahead of the 2026 midterms, Oscar winner Robert De Niro gave an emotional speech in which he urged people to “resist” Trump and his administration.
De Niro, a longtime and fervent Trump critic, appeared on MS NOW to speak about the current US president, sharing his prediction that Trump “will never leave” office and that it is up to Americans to “get rid of him”.
“He will never leave. We have to make him leave,” said the actor. “He jokes now about nationalizing the elections. He’s not joking. We’ve seen enough already.”
When asked whether he thinks that Trump will leave in three years, as per the Constitution which stipulates that no individual can be elected more than two terms as president, the 82-year-old screen legend replied: “He ain’t leaving. No way. Let’s not kid ourselves. He will not leave. It’s up to us to get rid of him.”
He continued: “The story is our country, and Trump is destroying it, and who knows what his reasons are, but it’s sick, it’s fucked up. We have to save this country.”
The actor said with his voice cracking: “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.”
De Niro previously referred to Trump as “sadistic” and a “clown,” while the president has repeatedly blasted De Niro, stating that he “suffers from an incurable case of Trump Derangement Syndrome” – the oft-trotted out pseudo-scientific pejorative / Orwellian Newspeak weaponised by those who want to silence critics of Trump’s actions and policy positions.
Last October, De Niro encouraged the country to “keep fighting” during the No Kings protests, saying: “There’s no other way to face a bully. You have to face him and fight it out”.
Prior to Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found that six in 10 American think that Trump has become erratic as he ages, with 61 per cent of respondents (89 per cent of Democrats, 30 per cent of Republicans and 64 per cent of independents) saying they would describe Trump as having “become erratic with age.”
The poll also showed that most Americans think the US’ political leadership is too old, with 79 per cent of respondents agreeing with the statement that “elected officials in Washington, D.C., are too old to represent most Americans.”
The average age in the US Senate is 64, and 58 in the US House of Representatives.
White House spokesman Davis Ingle said the poll results were examples of “fake and desperate narratives.”
However, according to another recent poll by Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos, only 39 per cent of Americans approve of the way Trump is handling the job of president.