Overview
- President Trump used a Truth Social post to label Robert De Niro “sick and demented” and to suggest the actor, along with Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, should be sent out of the country.
- De Niro criticized Trump on a Feb. 23 podcast and at a Feb. 24 “State of the Swamp” event in Washington, urging civic mobilization and saying he felt “betrayed by my country.”
- White House communications director Steven Cheung escalated the criticism, calling De Niro a “washed-up has-been” and accusing him of “spewing hate speech” in comments to USA TODAY.
- Conservative commentator Bill O’Reilly urged the Justice Department and Secret Service to interrogate De Niro and consider charges, though this reflects opinion rather than any stated government action.
- News reports note that De Niro and Tlaib were born in the U.S. and Omar is a naturalized citizen, and no formal DOJ or Secret Service investigation has been reported.