Robert De Niro blasted the current state of American affairs while speaking at Brown University, putting the political situation “in movie terms” for students to understand over the weekend.
“When you started school, the country was an inspiring, uplifting drama,” De Niro said. “You are graduating into a tragic, dumbass comedy.
He continued: “My advice is to lock the Van Wickle Gates and stay here. But if you do leave, work for the change. Work to stop the insanity. Start now so the Class of 2018 will graduate into a better world.”
De Niro, an outspoken critic of President Trump, received an honorary degree from the school as part of graduation ceremonies. Earlier this month, the actor was awarded the annual Chaplin Award at the Lincoln Center’s fundraiser that honors the creative, professional world of cinema and used the platform to mock the president.
In his speech, De Niro said that like Charlie Chaplin, “we make movies to entertain audiences,” but the film industry has been jeopardized lately “because of our government’s hostility towards art.”
“The budget proposal, among its other draconian cuts to life-saving and life-enhancing programs, eliminates the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for Humanities, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting,” he said. “For their own divisive political purposes, the administration suggests that the money for these all-inclusive programs goes to rich, liberal elites. This is what they now call an alternative fact. I call it what it is: Bulls-t.”
Last October, the actor filmed a political testimony for a non-partisan group in which he called the president “blatantly stupid,” a “punk,” “dog,” “pig” and “a mutt who doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” In February, De Niro said of Trump: “I’d like to punch him in the face.”