Democracy, division, resistance: What seems like celebrity bickering is a symptom of deep political divisions in the USA.
Donald Trump freaked out on his own social media platform after comments made by actor Robert De Niro. At a counter-event to Trump’s “State of the Union” speech, De Niro called for “resistance” against the US president and warned that he was dividing and endangering the country. Trump responded to Truth Social the morning after his speech with a series of personal attacks, including calling the 82-year-old movie star “sick and deranged” with an “extremely low IQ.”
Background: De Niro calls for resistance
Robert De Niro appeared at “State of the Swamp,” an event initiated by anti-Trump groups where activists and celebrities presented their perspective on the country’s political situation. The event was organized at the National Press Club in Washington, DC and served as a political counterweight to the official State of the Union address.
In his speech, De Niro expressed clear criticism of the political developments under Trump. A central sentence in his speech was: “Ultimately, I feel betrayed by my country.” With this statement he expressed his deep disappointment over what he saw as the dangerous political direction of the USA. He made it clear that he sees fundamental democratic values under threat and called on citizens to get politically involved and resist this development.
In addition to Robert De Niro, actors Mark Ruffalo, author Marianne Williamson, Senator Ron Wyden, and mayors Jacob Frey and Brandon Johnson spoke at “State of the Swamp.”
Trump responds with personal attacks
In several posts on his own social media platform, Trump accused De Niro of being clueless and “obsessed” with him. He repeated his criticism that De Niro wanted to divide the country and described his appeal to citizens as dangerous. Trump also attacked Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, suggesting they should “get on the same boat” with De Niro. Suggested with this “boat” metaphor the presidentthat Robert DeNiro and the Democratic representatives should leave the country and are not “real” Americans.
Lead-up and political tensions
The exchange of blows between Trump and De Niro is not a new phenomenon. Both have been in a political feud for years and have repeatedly criticized each other harshly in the past. De Niro regularly uses public appearances and media to criticize Trump’s policies, and Trump repeatedly responds with personal attacks.
context of the speech
Donald Trump’s reactions come immediately after his State of the Union address, which he delivered to the US Congress. In the almost two-hour speech, Trump defended his domestic and foreign policy agenda, emphasized economic successes and once again tightened his political guidelines.
De Niro’s call and Trump’s reaction are attracting additional attention before the important midterm elections in November and show once again how deep the political division in the USA now runs – and how much it has also affected the country’s cultural stage.
