[I don’t like giving T**** any more spotlighting than he already is receiving but I think it is crucial that we never stop being aware of this mad man’s actions and endeavours. Where we can, we must fight and oppose this felon. He is an outright danger to democracy in America and to the calm and relatively peaceful international world. T*** threatens this calm and cooperation throughout the whole world. If you believe in evil incarnate or personified, T**** may be it. Stay alert to what he does, is doing and oppose his endeavours in any way you can. The very least, keep up awareness of his activities.]
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De Niro Skewers Trump as Republicans Panic over Texas Senate Race
Really American, 2/26/2026
Just over a mile from Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, a very different message echoed through Washington. Legendary actor Robert De Niro stood before a packed room at the National Press Club and delivered a raw, emotional warning: he feels “betrayed” by his own country.
The event, dubbed the “State of the Swamp,” was a pointed counter-program to Trump’s speech inside the Capitol. While Trump touted his record, De Niro and a coalition of activists and artists called for Americans to mobilize ahead of the midterms. And the White House response? Personal insults and conspiracy-laced smears.
This wasn’t Hollywood theatrics. It was a cultural flashpoint in a country deeply divided.
De Niro didn’t mince words.
“I feel betrayed by my country,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it does need to return to the values that gave us our strength and humanity.”
Speaking at the National Press Club on Feb. 24, De Niro urged Americans to mobilize peacefully and vote in the midterms. He framed civic engagement not as partisan warfare but as patriotic duty.
“If you’re devoted to the Constitution and the rule of law… be ready to take the streets together, and we will take our country back.”
On a recent episode of The Best People podcast, De Niro went further, calling Trump “the enemy of this country” and warning that he does not believe Trump would willingly leave office at the end of a second term.
“He. Will. Not. Leave. It’s up to us to get rid of him.”
For many Americans watching democratic norms bend and strain, that fear does not feel abstract.
Trump, predictably, took to Truth Social to lash out.
He called De Niro “another sick and demented person” with a “Low IQ,” mocking him for showing emotion. The White House Communications Director piled on, dismissing the Oscar-winning actor as a “washed-up has-been.”
This is the pattern
When confronted with criticism, Trump does not engage. He degrades. He ridicules. He distracts.
Rather than address concerns about democratic norms or the rule of law, Trump’s orbit reduces dissent to “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” It is a tactic straight from the MAGA playbook: delegitimize critics, inflame the base, move on.
But something else is happening beneath the surface.
Are Americans finally coming to their senses?
While Trump postures online, Republicans are fighting a brutal intraparty war in Texas that could threaten their Senate majority.
Sen. John Cornyn appears headed for a nasty runoff against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a MAGA favorite facing a mountain of ethical baggage.
National Republicans have spent nearly $100 million trying to stop Paxton. Why? Because polling suggests he could actually lose a general election in a state that has not elected a Democratic senator since 1988.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune admitted that losing Texas is “not outside the realm of possibility” depending on the nominee.
Let that sink in. Republicans are openly acknowledging that a MAGA hardliner could cost them one of the reddest Senate seats in the country.
Cornyn’s camp has attacked Paxton as corrupt and personally compromised. Paxton’s supporters call concerns about electability a “scare tactic.” Trump, notably, has refused to endorse anyone.
The result is chaos. Millions burned in primary ads. Party leaders terrified of their own base. Donors worried about an outright Paxton victory.
This is not a party projecting strength. It is a party fractured by extremism.
The playbook is familiar
Meanwhile, House Republicans are hauling Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton into closed-door depositions over Jeffrey Epstein. The move conveniently shifts media oxygen away from Trump’s own past associations and ongoing legal controversies.
The playbook is familiar. Stoke outrage. Weaponize oversight. Flood the zone.
But voters are not blind to the dysfunction.
A federal judge just ruled against the administration’s third-country deportation policy. The FBI fired officials connected to investigations into Trump’s handling of classified documents. Red states are devouring themselves in primaries while blue states accuse the White House of weaponizing federal funds.
All of it unfolds against a backdrop of celebrity voices like De Niro’s urging Americans not to tune out.
Critics will say De Niro should “stick to acting.” But throughout American history, artists have played a role in civic debate. What unsettles MAGA world is not that De Niro spoke. It’s that his words resonate.
“We are Americans, too,” he said. “There are more of us because we believe in what’s right and wrong, empathy, and kindness.”
The 2026 midterms are shaping up as a referendum not just on policy, but on the direction of American democracy. Trump’s coalition is energized. But so are his opponents.
The question is who shows up.
