Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro delivered a sharp condemnation of the current administration on June 3, 2026, without once mentioning President Donald Trump by name during his opening remarks at the Tribeca Festival.
Speaking to a packed audience at the Beacon Theatre before the premiere of Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s documentary on Earth, Wind & Fire, the 82-year-old actor drew a stark contrast between leaders who unite communities and those who divide them for selfish gain. De Niro, who co-founded the New York festival in 2002 in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, said the event’s mission has always been to “pull people together” — a stark contrast to what he called “monstrous leaders” who “are trying to force us apart for their own immoral, cruel and corrupt purposes.”
After a deliberate pause, he added a line that landed with unmistakable clarity: “You know who I’m talking about.”
A Long History of Political Broadsides
The June 3 remarks represent only the most recent salvo in a nearly decade-long public feud between the “Raging Bull” star and the 47th president. Over the years, De Niro has called Trump an “existential threat to our freedoms and security,” a “philistine president,” a “monster,” a “tyrant,” a “jerk” and a “clown.” Trump has fired back repeatedly on social media with his own escalating attacks.
One month before the 2016 election, De Niro declared he would like to punch Trump in the face. In January 2017, accepting an honor at the National Board of Review’s gala, he called the new president a “jerk” and a “clown.” That May, while promoting “The Wizard of Lies,” he escalated again, declaring that “America is being run by a mad man” and comparing the president to “Colonel Sanders’ fried chicken.”
At a Tribeca Film Festival lunch event for journalists on April 18, 2018, De Niro delivered one of his most memorable lines, telling the room of reporters that their work was difficult enough “without being attacked by our low-life-in-chief.” He praised the press as “our saviors” and urged cultural institutions to “show that we’re open to ideas different than ours” — a refrain that echoed through his remarks on June 3.
From Cannes to Tribeca
De Niro’s Tribeca speech recalled his most internationally watched political broadside, delivered on May 13, 2025, when he received an honorary Palme d’Or at the opening ceremony of the 78th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France. Accepting the award from Leonardo DiCaprio inside the Grand Lumière theater, De Niro labeled Trump “America’s Philistine president” and slammed his decision to appoint himself head of the Kennedy Center and to impose a 100 percent tariff on films produced outside the United States.
“In my country, we are fighting like hell for the democracy we once took for granted,” he told the Cannes audience. “That affects all of us here, because art is the crucible that brings people together, like tonight. Art looks for truth. Art embraces diversity. That’s why art is a threat. That’s why we are a threat to autocrats and fascists.”
The Cannes speech ended with a rallying cry to “organize, to protest, and when there are elections, vote.” That ceremony, hosted by French actor Laurent Lafitte, also paid tribute to politically engaged screen icons including James Stewart, Jean Gabin, Josephine Baker, Marlene Dietrich, Richard Gere, Isabelle Adjani, Taraneh Alidoosti, Rock Hudson and Adèle Haenel, and featured an appearance by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
A Familiar Feud Reignited
De Niro has shown no signs of softening his stance during Trump’s second term. Just days before the Tribeca Festival opening, the actor delivered another barb at the president during one of the final segments of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
After De Niro’s remarks on June 3, Earth, Wind & Fire performed live for the sold-out crowd that had gathered to watch Thompson’s documentary.
The Festival’s Founding Mission
De Niro co-founded the festival in 2002 alongside Jane Rosenthal as a direct response to the Sept. 11 attacks, with the explicit goal of revitalizing lower Manhattan and bringing audiences back together through cinema. Framing his criticism of Trump through that founding mission — the idea that art exists to unite communities rather than divide them — carried particular resonance on June 3.
Rosenthal echoed that founding spirit on opening night, saying she never expected the festival to continue for 25 years.
The festival, now in its 25th year, runs in venues across New York City. For De Niro, the message on opening night was that the cultural institutions he helped build remain a counterweight to what he sees as an administration hostile to the arts. And while he declined to name the man in the White House, the audience inside the theater — and the millions who would see the clip circulate online afterward — understood exactly who was on the receiving end.
Whether Trump responds publicly remains to be seen. History suggests he will. The two men have been trading verbal blows since before Trump’s first term, and De Niro, now well into his ninth decade, has shown no interest in stepping away from the fight.
