Actor Robert De Niro, a Hillary Clinton supporter, has likened his feelings about 11/9 to 9/11 in comparing the Donald Trump election victory to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City which took the lives of about 3,000 innocent persons.
In the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, De Niro cut a get-out-the-vote video in which he described the Republican presidential nominee as blatantly stupid, a punk, and a pig, among other terms of endearment, along with expressing a desire to punch Trump in the face.
The footage prompted fellow Oscar winner Jon Voight to release his own pro-Trump video which he called a “plea to save America.”
In a Hollywood Reporter podcast, the Godfather II and Raging Bull Academy-Award recipient reportedly had this to say about the election of the New York real estate billionaire and first-time candidate to the presidency.
“I feel like I did after 9/11. And we’ll just see what happens. There will be many, many, many, many, many people watching.”
This is an insult to the 3000 people who lost their lives on 9/11. What a heartless comment. #RobertDeNiro https://t.co/t8tDnZvFuA
— ?? Serenity ?? (@polishprincessh) November 14, 2016
In an interview with the British media , De Niro expressed similar sentiments.
“I feel like I did when the World Trade Center was attacked. I’m waiting to see. I’m stunned. We’re gonna see. I’m gonna give him the benefit of the doubt. We’ll see what happens.”
De Niro has also described himself as “very depressed” with the election outcome and expressed support for anti-Trump protests that are occurring in some U.S. cities, AFP noted .
In a subsequent interview, the Goodfellas and Casino star sounded slightly more conciliatory about Donald Trump being elected the 45th president of the United states in an upset win (at least as far as the poll-obsessed media perceived it ) over Democrat Hillary Clinton.
“He’s elected president now, and I think half the country is horrified. Many parts of the world are. We’re going to see how he does. That’s it. It’s a fait accompli. As far as him being president, we wait and see. I give the benefit of the doubt that he’s going to do–try his best to do the right thing because if he doesn’t do the right thing, it will affect him and his family too. So we’re all in this together. That’s the most I can say…”
De Niro also acknowledged that he no longer has plans to punch Trump in the face.
It remains to be seen if Robert De Niro and Donald Trump, a former Democrat and independent, can agree on what doing the right thing for the country means as a practical matter.
Apart from politics, the Hollywood icon, 73, has been showing up in a series of underperforming movies one after another and is currently promoting a new film called The Comedian .
In some good news for Robert De Niro, the mayor of an Italian city where his great-grandparents resided and from which they immigrated to America has offered the acting legend asylum if he really plans to follow through on leaving the U.S. (like various celebrities threatened) upon Trump winning the White House.
Antonio Cerio, the mayor of Ferrazzano, Italy, says he is “ready to welcome “[De Niro] with open arms,” the Independent of London reported .
Added the mayor: “If, after the disappointment of Trump’s election, he wants to take refuge here, we would be honored to welcome him…This is the right place in which to forget the electoral defeat (of Hillary Clinton) and avoid having to beat up Trump.”
De Niro had apparently joked on Jimmy Kimmel’s show that he might move to Ferrazzano if Donald Trump became the president-elect.
Do you think that the depth of feeling after the 9/11 attack is in any way equivalent to the way people feel about 11/9 election results in which Donald Trump became president?
[Featured Image by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP Images]