Robert De Niro just turned live television into a war zone, unloading a profanity-laced tirade against President Donald Trump that stunned viewers and set the internet ablaze. The 81-year-old Oscar legend erupted during a special Friday night airing of The View, dropping F-bombs and fiery accusations in a meltdown that’s already being dubbed “the rant of the century.”
“I’ve had it with this guy!” De Niro bellowed, slamming his fist on the table as Whoopi Goldberg tried to steer the chaos. “Trump’s a disgrace to humanity—a lying, cheating, no-good punk who’s dragging this country into the gutter! He’s back in office a month, and it’s already a cesspool—tax breaks for his rich buddies, trashing the planet, whining about Melania rumors. He’s a clown, a con, a complete [bleep]ing disaster!”
The outburst came minutes into a segment meant to promote De Niro’s new mob flick, The Irishman Returns, but the Raging Bull star had other plans. “I’m not here to play nice,” he snarled, ignoring Joy Behar’s pleas to “keep it civil.” “I’ve been warning you about this schmuck since 2016—he’s a wannabe dictator who’d sell his own mother for a headline. Look at him now, strutting around the White House like he owns us. I’m done!”
The studio audience gasped, then roared—some cheering, others jeering—as producers scrambled to bleep the expletives. “He’s a two-bit gangster with no soul!” De Niro raged, veins bulging. “I’d knock him out myself if I weren’t 81—someone’s gotta!” Sunny Hostin jumped in, asking if he feared backlash. “Backlash?” he shot back. “I fear for my grandkids living under this creep!”
X ignited as the clip hit airwaves at 8:15 p.m. PST. “De Niro just torched Trump—holy [bleep]!” one user posted, sharing a 30-second cut that’s racked up 3 million views. “Bobby D’s my hero—this is unhinged in the best way,” another wrote. #DeNiroMeltdown soared to No. 1, with fans dubbing it “the Italian Hulk smash” and foes snarling, “Another Hollywood crybaby!”
Trump fired back on Truth Social by 8:30 p.m.: “Crazy Bobby De Zero—washed-up actor with ZERO talent! Sad! I’m the best President ever, he’s jealous!” MAGA loyalists flooded X, with one raging, “De Niro’s a has-been—Trump’s living rent-free in his head!” But liberals lapped it up: “He said what we’re all screaming—Trump’s a stain!”
The View panel was a circus—Whoopi chuckling nervously, Meghan McCain storming off mid-rant, yelling, “This is why people hate elites!” De Niro didn’t flinch. “She can leave—Trump’s the real elitist, kissing up to billionaires while we choke!” he snapped, before tossing to commercial with a final, “Wake up, America!”
It’s not De Niro’s first Trump slam—he’s called him a “mutt” and “national disaster” before—but this live TV detonation, raw and unscripted, hit different. “He’s been simmering since the inauguration,” a pal told us. “Seeing Trump back in power broke the dam.” With networks replaying the rant nonstop and X servers straining under the buzz, one thing’s clear: Robert De Niro just turned Trump hate into must-see TV—and the internet’s here for it.