Robert De Niro apologises — to Canadians for the ‘idiotic behaviour of my president’
WHEN Robert De Niro stepped up to the microphone at an event in Toronto on Monday morning, he had a few more choice words to say about President Donald Trump.
But unlike the expletive-filled rant that earned him a standing ovation at the Tony Awards less than 24 hours earlier, the Oscarwinning actor instead took a PG approach, apologising to Canadians for Trump’s “idiotic behaviour.”
“I just want to make a note of apology for the idiotic behaviour of my president,” De Niro said, his comment prompting loud cheers and claps from the crowd.
The actor was attending a groundbreaking ceremony for a new development in downtown Toronto along with celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa, Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported. De Niro is a co- owner of the Nobu restaurant business.
After the applause subsided, De Niro reiterated his apology, this time focusing on Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and “the other people” at the Group of Seven summit which took place last weekend.
“It’s a disgrace,” he said in reference to Trump’s recent behaviour. “It’s disgusting.”
Tensions between Trump and Trudeau are at an all-time high after the two leaders disagreed over trade at the summit.
In two tweets that announced the end of US support for the joint G-7 statement, Trump claimed Trudeau made “false statements” during a prior news conference and went on to lambaste the Canadian leader.
“PM Justin Trudeau of Canada acted so meek and mild during our @ G7 meetings ...” Trump tweeted, adding that Trudeau was “Very dishonest & weak.”
Echoing Trump’s sentiments, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro also spoke harshly about Trudeau on Fox News over the weekend.
“There’s a special place in hell for any foreign leader that engages in bad-faith diplomacy with President Donald J. Trump and then tries to stab him in the back on the way out the door,” Navarro said. “And that’s what bad-faith Justin Trudeau did with that stunt news conference.”
During a news conference on Sunday when Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland was asked about Navarro’s comments, she responded saying, “Canada does not believe that ad hominem attacks are a particularly appropriate or useful way to conduct our relations with other countries.”
In Toronto on Monday, Mayor John Tory, who attended the same event De Niro spoke at, also took note of the actor’s Tony Awards outburst, the Toronto
I just want to make a note of apology for the idiotic behaviour of my president. It’s a disgrace. It’s disgusting.
Star reported.
“Sir, with regard to the comments in the news today, I have only two words to say: Thank you,” Tory said.
After the ceremony, Tory said many Canadians related to De Niro’s “strongly held views.”
“A lot of Canadians would be more than a bit upset at the kind of attitude portrayed towards Canada,” he said, referring to what Trump and his advisers have said. “When somebody is taking on Canada, they’re taking Toronto on too ... but you won’t hear any f-bombs from me.”
De Niro’s negative opinions about Trump are nothing new.
In March, he called the president an “idiot” who “lacks any sense of humanity or compassion,” People reported.
A month later during the opening night of the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival, De Niro referred to Trump as the “lowlife-in- chief,” HuffPost reported.
“America is being run by a madman who wouldn’t recognise the truth if it came inside a bucket of his beloved Colonel Sanders Fried Chicken,” De Niro said.
In an interview with CBC Toronto after Monday’s event, De Niro said he is angry and frustrated with Trump’s behaviour, adding that he has “no choice but to speak out.”
“This guy just is a jerk,” he said.
Robert De Niro, Oscar-winning actor