Robert De Niro scathingly says that Trump and his followers are ‘not real Republicans’

‘He cannot hold anything together … He wants to destroy the country’

Robert De Niro has hit out at Donald Trump once again ahead of November’s presidential election, branding him and his allies “not real Republicans”.

De Niro, 81, is no stranger to voicing his opinions on Trump, recently calling the ex-president “a jerk” and “an idiot” during an interview for Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? on Max.

Now, the Goodfellas star has left audiences in stitches after he asked them to “imagine” Trump directing Francis Ford Coppolas’ Megalopolis, as reported by Deadline.

At the New York premiere of the divisive film, De Niro said that, if Trump were to direct the movie, “it’ll never go anywhere, from total craziness. He cannot do anything”.

The actor said: “He cannot hold anything together … He wants to destroy the country. And he could not do this movie. He could not do anything that has a structure.”

Focusing on the political messaging of the film, and Coppola’s warnings about the rise of dictator-like figures, De Niro added that he is “worried”.

The actor continued: “I see the things in Francis’ film about that, the parallels and so on. To me, it’s not over ’till it’s over and we have to go at this wholeheartedly to beat the Republicans – those Republicans, they’re not real Republicans – and beat Trump. It’s that simple. We cannot have that type of person. Everybody has to get out there and vote.”

Director Spike Lee, who joined De Niro and Coppola for a 30-minute Q&A before the screening at the AMC Lincoln Square Imax also echoed the thoughts on Trump.

Lee, 67, said: “As my sister says, forward not backwards. It’s simple: Register to vote and show up. This election is going to be very, very close. I’m a big sports fan and, the expression you used, it’s not over ’till it’s over. We cannot just think that the game is over when it’s not.”

Coppola also chose to note that he had “deliberately” cast actors in the film who had voiced support for the current Republican party. Although he didn’t name any individuals, Jon Voight, a vocal Trump supporter, does have a role in Megalopolis.

2024 TIFF - "Megalopolis" Premiere (2024 Invision)

Away from politics, Megalopolis has been wrapped up in its own controversies. The 140-minute, self-financed magnum opus starring Adam Driver has seen its trailer pulled after it was revealed to feature fabricated quotes from film critics.

Elsewhere, Coppola has sued Variety, saying that a July story that said he ran an unprofessional set with impunity and touched and tried to kiss female extras during the production of the film was false and libellous.