Robert De Niro is ramping up his criticism of the Trump administration in the final weeks before the 2026 midterm elections.
The 83-year-old Oscar winner did not pull his punches while speaking at Indivisible's Hands Off Our Vote event in New York City on Sunday, Oct. 4. He called out "weak and spineless" Republicans in Congress who "won't protect our rights" as voters, accused President Donald Trump of trying to "our votes away" amid record-low approval ratings and encouraged voters to "take back the House, take back the Senate, take back the power, take back our country."
"The Trump administration knows that their policies are not only crazy and cruel, they're increasingly unpopular. They can see it. They’re not stupid. Well, OK, they are very
f---ing stupid," De Niro said from the podium. "They’re stupider than I ever thought, but they recognize what they’re doing is turning away people. They can't get support from the voters. So what do they do? They try to take our votes away. Are you kidding me?"
He added, "And when that coward, that f---ing piece of s---, Donald Trump, tries to take our voice and power away, what do we tell him? Keep your f---ing hands off our vote!"
In response to De Niro's remarks, the White House reissued a statement previously provided to USA TODAY criticizing the actor.
"Robert DeNiro is a washed up has-been who hasn’t been relevant in 30 years. Now, he just beclowns himself by spewing hate speech and inciting violence against others," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in the statement. "Instead of embarrassing himself every time he speaks, he should seek immediate treatment for a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has completely rotted his peanut-sized brain."
The SAVE Act, a congressional proposal that would require proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections, has passed the U.S. House but has not cleared the Senate.
At the same time, the Trump administration has expanded the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements database, also known as SAVE, to allow states to check voter rolls for citizenship and eligibility.
De Niro finished his speech by telling attendees and livestream viewers that they should participate in early voting and spread the word to their communities.
"Now there are people, powerful people, who we’ve empowered, who now want to take away our power," De Niro said. "Of course, we’re not. First, we’re going to vote, and we're going to vote early. Then we’re going to get our family, friends, neighbors and friendly strangers to also answer the call."
He also encouraged participation in the No Kings nationwide day of action on Oct. 17.
De Niro has been a vocal critic of Trump throughout the president's political career, with the actor appearing at anti-Trump protests and speaking at grassroots events encouraging people to vote Trump and other Republican leadership out of office.
While De Niro has repeatedly denounced Trump – by leveling insults such as calling him an "enemy of this country" – over two presidential administrations, the president has responded with just as much combativeness.
In a February Truth Social post, Trump wrote that the actor is "another sick and demented person with, I believe, an extremely Low IQ, who has absolutely no idea what he is doing or saying."
Contributing: Maria Francis, USA TODAY Network
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Robert De Niro rips 'coward' Trump over voter suppression
