OSCAR-WINNING actor Robert De Niro took aim at the US president again during a Newsnight interview last night, accusing Donald Trump of not caring about the number of people who die from coronavirus.
De Niro, 76, has long been a vocal critic of Trump and has now shifted his focus onto the president’s handling of the healthcare crisis.
More than 82,000 people have died with the virus in the USA, a significantly higher number than the American death toll from the Vietnam War and the highest coronavirus death toll in the world.
“It’s like Shakespearean the whole thing” – actor Robert de Niro on how the coronavirus outbreak is being handled in the US#Newsnight pic.twitter.com/k64t3Mhcl9
— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) May 12, 2020
De Niro said the current situation at the White House is “Shakespearean” adding "you've got a lunatic saying things that people are trying to dance around".
Trump has consistently been accused of contradicting medical advice given by scientific advisers, refuses to wear a mask and was widely mocked last month when he suggested Covid-19 could be treated by injecting disinfectant into the body.
The actor told Emily Maitlis: "It's appalling, it's appalling. He wants to be re-elected, he doesn't even care how many people die."
When the Newsnight presenter said Trump’s voter base would disagree with his statement, De Niro replied: "No, he doesn't care for those people. And the people who he pretends to care about are the people he has the most disdain for because he could care less about them.
"They might like to tell themselves or delude themselves, but he doesn't care about them."
De Niro has been a vocal critic of Trump since he first ran for office, but the pair have been feuding since the 2018 Tony Awards when the actor shouted “f*** Trump”.
The president tweeted in response to say: "Robert De Niro, a very Low IQ individual, has received too many shots to the head by real boxers in movies. I watched him last night and truly believe he may be 'punch-drunk'."
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