Taxi Driver and Raging Bull star Robert De Niro popped off at Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff during an on-air appearance Sunday.
The Hollywood actor tore into Stephen Miller during an appearance on MSNBC’s The Weekend, accusing him of laying the groundwork for Donald Trump to seek an unconstitutional third term.
“We see it all the time—[Trump] will not want to leave,” De Niro began, reflecting on widespread fears Trump may be eyeing a 2028 run. “He set it up with, I guess he’s the Goebbels of the cabinet, Stephen Miller.”
“He’s a Nazi!” De Niro continued to drive home his comparison of Miller, who is Jewish, with Adolf Hitler’s chief propagandist, Joseph Goebbels. “Yes, he is, and he should be ashamed of himself.”
De Niro took no prisoners with his comments about Miller on MSNBC Sunday. Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty Images
Miller, who has routinely fended off accusations of racism, even fascism in the past, has a wide-ranging portfolio at the White House that includes overseeing the Trump administration’s nationwide deportation crackdown. The deputy chief of staff has routinely framed the policy as a defense against an ongoing “invasion” of criminal migrants from abroad, very often in expressly xenophobic terms.
When approached for comment, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told the Daily Beast: “Robert DeNiro is a washed up has-been who hasn’t been relevant in 30 years. Now, he just beclowns himself by spewing hate speech and inciting violence against others. Instead of embarrassing himself every time he speaks, he should seek immediate treatment for a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his peanut sized brain.”
Host of MSNBC’s The Weekend Jonathon Capehart quietly sidestepped De Niro’s provocative comments about Miller, moving swiftly on to some of the White House’s social media output over the weekend as more than seven million Americans took to the streets in protest against the Trump administration.
It’s not the first time Miller, who is Jewish, has been slammed as a fascist. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
In particular, Capehart mentioned a post from the official White House account on X, featuring Trump and Vice President JD Vance decked out in crowns, as a not-so-subtle dig against the “No Kings” protests, as well as a digitally altered image of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wearing sombreros.
“We’re built different. Good night, everyone,” the tweet read, accompanied by a crown emoji for good measure.
De Niro took this as only further evidence of his earlier point. “It’s all nonsense,” he said. “We know it’s all racist. I mean, that’s what he appeals to, that’s what Trump is.”
Speaking about Saturday’s protests, the actor urged critics of the Trump administration to keep “fighting and pushing” back—warning he fears the president might not willingly give up power when his term ends.