Robert De Niro criticized Donald Trump outside the former US president's criminal hush money trial in New York on Tuesday, as the pair's long-term feud intensifies ahead of the 2024 election.
Since 2011, Trump has been locked in a mostly one-sided feud with De Niro, which has seen the actor criticize Trump's politics and behavior in interviews, award speeches, and political campaign videos.
Though it is common for politicians to garner support from celebrities to boost their reputations, De Niro's feud with Trump has escalated over the years, particularly when the actor said he wanted to punch Trump "in the face" in a 2016 campaign video.
De Niro again criticized Trump at a Democrat news conference on Tuesday outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse. Inside the court, Trump's lawyers and prosecutors were giving closing arguments after he was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
At the news conference, De Niro said he had joined Joe Biden's presidential campaign to help prevent Trump from returnig to the White House.
"When Trump ran in 2016, it was like a joke. 'This buffoon running for president? No, never could happen,'" De Niro said. "We'd forgotten the lessons of history that showed us other clowns who weren't taken seriously until they became vicious dictators."
In another interview with the press outside the courthouse, De Niro said: "He's a monster. He cannot be president of the United States again. Never ever."
On Wednesday, Trump responded on Truth Social that De Niro suffers from an "incurable case of TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME."
Here's a timeline of De Niro and Trump's feud.