Hollywood legend Robert De Niro witnessed what may have been one of president Donald Trump’s most humiliating legal moments, watching from inside the Supreme Court as justices systematically dismantled the administration’s birthright citizenship case.
The 82-year-old actor, a vocal Trump critic for years, was spotted by multiple attendees inside the courtroom on Wednesday, April 1, as the nation’s highest court heard arguments on Trump’s controversial effort to end birthright citizenship. The historic hearing marked the first time a sitting president attended Supreme Court oral arguments—and the proceedings quickly turned into a disaster for the administration.
Trump, 79, didn’t stay for the entire hearing. The president exited the courtroom roughly halfway through the arguments after watching his Solicitor General D. John Sauer face brutal questioning from the justices. At times, Sauer admitted he hadn’t prepared answers or thought through his arguments in response to the court’s probing questions.
Even conservative justices expressed deep skepticism over the president’s plan to upend the 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause. Chief Justice John Roberts shot back at one administration argument: “It’s the same Constitution.” The Supreme Court appears poised to uphold birthright citizenship, dealing another significant blow to Trump’s immigration agenda.
Trump was seated in the first row of the public section, typically reserved for members of Congress. Despite holding the nation’s highest office, he was treated no differently from other spectators in the room.
For De Niro, the moment capped years of anti-Trump activism. The award-winning actor has spent years as one of Hollywood’s most outspoken critics of the president, and Wednesday put him in the same room as Trump—sitting in seats reserved for the justices’ guests just feet away from top administration officials including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was attending what turned out to be her last day in the position before Trump fired her the following day.
Fox News caught up with De Niro outside the courthouse in Washington, D.C., where the actor didn’t hold back.
“People don’t like him for a reason,” De Niro said. “All the terrible things he’s done. If he did nice things, then he could have—he became president—to do nice things, not hateful, retribution, not just, outright mean things.”
The actor’s appearance at the Supreme Court came just days after he spoke at the No Kings rally in New York and delivered pre-recorded video remarks for the Minnesota rally on March 28. At those events, De Niro continued his scorched-earth criticism of the president, calling Trump an “existential threat to our freedoms and security” who “must be stopped.”
De Niro appeared at the New York rally alongside state Attorney General Letitia James, TV host Padma Lakshmi, and Rev. Al Sharpton, all united in opposition to what they characterized as Trump’s monarchical ambitions.
The birthright citizenship case, Trump v. Barbara, represents the administration’s attempt to dramatically restrict U.S. citizenship by reinterpreting the 14th Amendment. The administration argues the amendment doesn’t grant citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants or temporary visitors—a position that legal scholars across the political spectrum have dismissed as constitutionally unsound.
Wednesday’s Supreme Court hearing follows recent tension between Trump and the court. During his State of the Union address on February 24, four justices sat stone-faced as Trump publicly criticized their tariff ruling, calling their decision “unfortunate” and “disappointing.”
The tariff ruling came just days before the speech, when the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s sweeping tariff plan in a 6-3 decision. Chief Justice Roberts, Justice Elena Kagan, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and Justice Amy Coney Barrett attended the address—three of whom had voted against Trump’s tariffs. Trump exchanged handshakes with the justices before delivering his remarks, though the encounters were notably stiff.
Trump had previously attacked the justices who ruled against him on tariffs, calling their decision “terrible” and saying he was “ashamed of certain members of the court.” He even announced on social media he would use lowercase letters when referring to “the supreme court” based on his “complete lack of respect” for their ruling, while praising Justice Kavanaugh and two others who dissented as “the Great Three.”
The president’s willingness to publicly attack the Supreme Court—including justices he appointed—represents an extraordinary breach of presidential norms. Legal experts have warned that Trump’s attacks undermine judicial independence and the separation of powers.
For De Niro, watching the justices tear apart Trump’s citizenship scheme offered vindication for his years of activism against the administration. The actor has consistently warned that Trump poses a fundamental threat to American democracy and the rule of law.
As hundreds of protesters rallied outside the Supreme Court on Wednesday in defense of birthright citizenship, De Niro had the best seat in the house to witness what legal observers described as a catastrophic performance by the Trump administration’s legal team.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the case by the end of June, but based on Wednesday’s oral arguments, the president appears headed for another humiliating legal defeat—one that Robert De Niro witnessed firsthand.