Robert De Niro Says “We Can’t Let Up” on Protests, Must Stand Up to “Bully” Donald Trump

Robert De Niro is speaking out on the importance of protests, saying, “We can’t let up,” because President Donald Trump “does not want to leave the White House.”

The Oscar winner stopped by MSNBC’s The Weekend on Sunday to chat about Saturday’s “No Kings” protests across the nation and the risk of Trump running for a third term.

“The original No Kings protest was 250 years ago,” De Niro said of the American Revolution, which started in 1775. “Americans decided they didn’t want to live under the rule of King George III. They declared their independence and fought a bloody war for democracy. We’ve had two and a half centuries of democracy since then. Often challenging, sometimes messy, always essential, and we fought in two World Wars to preserve it.”

He continued, “Now we have a would-be king who wants to take it away? King Donald I. Fuck that. We are rising up again this time, nonviolently raising our voices to declare No Kings.”

Protest organizers said nearly seven million people marched and rallied in cities across the United States on Saturday for “No Kings” demonstrations denouncing what participants see as the current government’s move into authoritarianism underTrump.

The Zero Day actor said he’s “very happy” to see people from all different backgrounds and across the political spectrum joining the protests, which reportedly took place in more than 2,700 cities and towns, including Los Angeles and New York City.

“We need much more of it going forward, because that’s the only thing that the politicians are going to recognize, either face the wrath of Trump or the wrath of the people,” De Niro said. “And they have to be more afraid of the wrath of the people and realize this is not good. I better strap on my balls and do something about it.”

The Killers of the Flower Moon actor also stressed the importance of continuing the protests so that the “No Kings” message resonates with more people. The last “No Kings” protest was on June 14, the same day as the U.S. Army 250th Anniversary Parade and Trump’s 79th birthday.

“We can’t let up,” he continued. “Cannot let up on him because he is not going to leave the White House. He does not want to leave the White House. He will not leave the White House. Anybody thinks he, oh, he’ll do this, he’ll do that. It’s just deluding themselves.”

De Niro continued, “The Republicans, most of all, because they know, but they’re going along with it. It’s a classic bully situation. We see it, and there’s no other way to face a bully; you have to face him and fight it out and back them off and back him down. That’s the only way this is going to work.”

On Saturday, other Hollywood notables, including Spike Lee, Mark Ruffalo, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ben Stiller, also spoke out in support of the “No Kings” protests.