'Keep your f***ing hands off our vote’: Robert De Niro hits out at Donald Trump ahead of midterm elections

Robert De Niro didn't hold back in his criticism of Donald Trump, calling the US president a "piece of s***."

He and fellow actor Mark Ruffalo made speeches at the Hands Off Our Vote election-protection campaign event in New York on Sunday (October 4) ahead of the 2026 midterms this November.

"The Trump administration knows that their policies are not only crazy and cruel, they’re increasingly unpopular. They can see it. They’re not stupid. Well, OK. They are very f***ing stupid. I mean, really stupid. They’re stupider than I ever thought," De Niro said about the current administration.

“But they recognise what they’re doing is turning away people,” he added “They can’t get support from the voters. So, what do they do? They try to take our votes away. Are you kidding me?”

De Niro then put across his point more bluntly, “Keep your f***ing hands off our vote.”

Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images, and Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images

"When the weak and spineless Republicans in the House and Senate won’t protect our rights, what do we say to them?" he asked, to which the crowd responded, "Keep your f***ing hands off our votes."

“When the Supreme Court rubber-stamps voter suppression, what do we say to them? Keep your f***ing hands off our vote. When Trump’s Department of Justice threatens election officials, demands voter rolls and seizes ballots, what do we say to them? Keep your f***ing hands off our vote.

“When masked and armed ICE thugs stalk our polling places, what do we say to them? Keep your f***ing hands off our vote,” he added.

The call and response continued, “And when that coward, that fucking piece of shit Donald Trump tries to take our voice and power away, what do we tell him? Keep your f***ing hands off our vote."

To finish, De Niro noted, "I think they got the message."

“Now, with your commitment and support, we won’t just send them a message. We’re going to send them away," adding, “Take back the House. Yes. Take back the Senate. Yes. Take back the power. Yes. Take back our country. Yes."

Ruffalo then took to the stage to echo these sentiments, telling the crowd how these midterm elections are "one of the most consequential elections of our lifetimes."

“I mean, we always hear that,” he noted. “But this is the one. We got to get this dumbass, fool ass, tired ass, lame ass, duck ass out of office. We got to make him a lame duck. We have to stop his policies now.”

It's not the first time De Niro has been a vocal critical of Trump, as he previously put the president on blast at the Cannes Film Festival last year, and in 2024 was censored during epic Trump rant on The View.

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