Recommendations of the Editorial team
Robert De Niro, a well-known critic of Donald Trump, praised it “No Kings” protests over the weekend and said it was important that people “not let up” because the president “doesn’t want to leave the White House.”
The actor stepped out on Sunday (October 19) at the MSNBC show “The Weekend” and took the opportunity to speak out against Trump’s attempt to stay in office for a third term and the way Americans are resisting him.
“The original No Kings protest movement took place 250 years ago,” De Niro noted, referring to the American Revolution that began in 1775. “The Americans decided they did not want to live under the rule of King George III. They declared their independence and waged a bloody war for democracy. Since then, we have had two and a half centuries of democracy. Often challenging, sometimes chaotic, always indispensable, and we have fought in two world wars to preserve it.”
He added: “Now we have a would-be king who wants to take this away from us? King Donald I. Fuck it. We’re rising again this time. We’re raising our voices non-violently to proclaim: ‘No Kings’.”
“We need a lot more of it”
De Niro said he was “very happy” that an estimated seven million Americans took part in the “No Kings” demonstrations. “We need a lot more of this because that’s the only thing politicians are going to realize: either face the wrath of Trump or the wrath of the people,” the actor said. “And they need to be more afraid of the wrath of the people and realize that this is not good. I’d better get my act together and do something about it.”
Of continuing the effort, he said: “We can’t let up. We can’t let up because he’s not going to leave the White House. He doesn’t want to leave the White House. He’s not going to leave the White House. Whoever thinks he’s going to do this or that, that’s just self-deception. Especially the Republicans, because they know it, but they’re going along with it. It’s a classic bullying situation. We see it, and there’s no other way confronting bullies; you have to face it and fight it out and push it back and force it to retreat. That’s the only way this can work.”
Americans in all 50 states demonstrated against Trump and his policies on Saturday (October 18). The day was the second edition of the “No Kings” protests after a massive action on June 14th. Several celebrities expressed their support for the protests, including John Cusack, who demonstrated in Chicago. “No, you can’t put troops on our streets,” Cusack told Trump in an interview with CNN. “You can’t cause enough chaos to invoke the Insurrection Act so you can stay in power. We all know what your plan is.” He added: “Go to hell!”