Academy Award-winning actor Robert De Niro took aim at President Donald Trump’s elaborate 80th birthday UFC spectacle during a protest concert in New York City on June 14, 2026, mocking attendees of what he called the “White House cage fights” while delivering a passionate critique of the Trump administration.
At the Rise Up, Sing Out concert organized by the Committee for the First Amendment at New York’s Town Hall on Sunday night, the 82-year-old Raging Bull star opened with a pointed jab at the UFC Freedom 250 event held the previous day on the White House South Lawn. “Good evening, everyone, and welcome to all of you who couldn’t get tickets to the White House cage fights,” De Niro quipped to the crowd, according to The Daily Beast.
The event De Niro referenced was officially planned to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary but was held on President Trump’s 80th birthday. The elaborate affair featured a specially constructed arena, musical guests, aerial displays, and a seven-fight card, with the president positioned as the star of the show.
The Committee for the First Amendment, originally formed in 1947 in response to the House Un-American Activities Committee hearings and revived in 2025 by actress Jane Fonda, organized Sunday’s protest concert. The star-studded lineup included Fonda, Bette Midler, Julia Roberts, and Lily Gladstone, De Niro’s co-star from Killers of the Flower Moon.
During his remarks, De Niro expressed mixed emotions about the nation as it approaches its 250th anniversary, telling the audience that “our country isn’t so lovable right now.” The actor drew a stark comparison, saying loving America under the current administration was “starting to sound like an abused spouse saying they love their abuser.”
De Niro then laid out a series of grievances against the Trump administration’s policies. He criticized the country for initiating what he called foolish and cruel wars, stripping millions of healthcare coverage to benefit the wealthy elite, deploying armed groups against protesters, mistreating immigrants, and breaking up families.
De Niro said he couldn’t support a nation governed by a bigoted, woman-hating, anti-immigrant dictator, naming Trump and his enabling Congress directly.
The Daily Beast reported that the White House was contacted for comment but had not responded by publication time.
De Niro’s appearance at Sunday’s concert is the latest chapter in his long-running public feud with President Trump. The actor has been an incredibly vocal critic of the administration, participating in a No Kings Day rally in New York during March and endorsing the cause “150 percent.” At that event, he declared that Trump “must be stopped, and he must be stopped now,” according to Yahoo Entertainment.
The actor even used his acceptance speech for the Honorary Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival to rail against the president, slamming Trump’s hostile takeover of the Kennedy Center and dubbing him “America’s philistine president.”
Earlier this year, in a February 2026 appearance on MS NOW’s “The Best People” podcast, De Niro became emotional while discussing the political divide in America, placing blame squarely on President Trump. “Trump is the enemy of this country, let’s not kid ourselves. It’s that simple,” the Godfather star told host Nicolle Wallace. “Everybody has to stick together to get them out and get back on track.”
Fighting back tears during that podcast appearance, De Niro explained why unity matters during what he described as trying times. “You have to lift people up,” he said. “You have to bring them together, period. You can’t divide people.”
President Trump has responded to De Niro’s continued attacks by dubbing him “Trump Deranged” and accusing him of “criminal” speech. In a February Truth Social post, the 80-year-old president attacked De Niro as mentally unstable and unintelligent, claiming the actor had no understanding of his words and suggesting some statements bordered on illegal activity.
Trump also mocked De Niro’s emotional podcast appearance, comparing his tearful moment to a child’s behavior and suggesting he might be more unstable than Rosie O’Donnell, currently in Ireland attempting to return to the United States. The president concluded by boasting: “The good news is that America is now Bigger, Better, Richer, and Stronger than ever before, and it’s driving them absolutely crazy!”
De Niro has dismissed the “Trump Derangement Syndrome” accusations hurled at him by the president’s supporters as “nonsense” and has refused to back down from his highly public criticisms. In a February interview with The Guardian, the actor called for peaceful protest, saying the objective is removing Trump from power.
Closing his speech at Sunday’s Town Hall concert, De Niro reflected on his immigrant heritage and his hopes for America’s future. He told the crowd that America had embraced his immigrant forebears and provided his family with tremendous opportunities and freedoms throughout most of his life. “I want to love my country again. I want my country back.”