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Robert De Niro has launched a fresh attack on Donald Trump, calling the US president a “lunatic” who “doesn’t care” how many people die from coronavirus.
The actor has been a long-standing critic of Trump and took aim at his response to the Covid-19 pandemic during an appearance on Newsnight on Tuesday.
The US currently has the highest death toll in the world, with more than 82,000 people having died from the virus.
The Hollywood star described the situation at the White House as “Shakespearean,” saying “you’ve got a lunatic saying things that people are trying to dance around”.
Trump, who is up for re-election in November, has frequently been accused of contradicting the advice of his scientific advisers throughout the pandemic and refuses to wear a mask.
He was also slammed last month for suggesting the virus could be treated by injecting disinfectant into the body.
De Niro added: “It’s appalling, it’s appalling. He wants to be re-elected, he doesn’t even care how many people die.”
Challenged by Newsnight host Emily Maitlis that Trump’s fanbase would disagree, the actor said: “No, he doesn’t care for those people. And the people who he pretends to care about are the people he has the most disdain for because he could care less about them.
“They might like to tell themselves or delude themselves, but he doesn’t care about them.”
The screen legend is currently isolating at his home in New York, the state hardest hit by the pandemic.
He said: “It’s been very strange because New York is kind of like a ghost town, it’s surreal then you see other parts of the world, other great big cities of the world, are also in the same situation.
“It’s interesting, it’s kind of like a science fiction movie but it’s real.”
Trump has so far not responded to De NIro’s comments, but he famously bit back at the star after he yelled “fuck Trump” at the Tony Awards in 2018.
He said: “Robert De Niro, a very Low IQ individual, has received too many shots to the head by real boxers in movies. I watched him last night and truly believe he may be ‘punch-drunk’.”
The actor later said he’d tried to give Trump “a chance” after he was first elected, telling Stephen Colbert’s US chat show: “I give everybody the benefit of the doubt. This guy has proven himself to be a total loser.”
He also referred to the commander in chief as a “real racist” and white supremacist in an interview with The Guardian last year.
Newsnight airs weeknights at 10.45pm on BBC Two.