Director Rob Reiner denounced Robert De Niro and other celebrities for their remarks against President Trump, saying it only helps the president.
During an exclusive interview with The Hill’s new TV show “Rising,” which aired on Wednesday, Reiner addressed the controversy surrounding actor Robert De Niro’s “F—Trump” speech during the Tony Awards on Sunday.
De Niro called the president a “f—ing idiot” and a “f—ing fool,” which was met with a standing ovation.{mosads}
“You’re helping Trump by saying ‘F— Trump,’ because he can say ‘look at these people, these elitists,’ ” Reiner told “Rising” co-hosts Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton.
Reiner said he thinks celebrities are ultimately hurting Democrats when they go on expletive-ridden rants against Trump.
“There’s a very fine line between energizing the base and energizing the other side,” Reiner said.
Trump responded to De Niro’s rant two days later, saying the Academy Award-winning actor was “a very Low IQ individual” and suggesting he had “received too many shots to the head,” in his roles playing boxers.
This isn’t the first time De Niro has criticized the president.
The actor is one of Trump’s harshest critics in Hollywood. In the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, De Niro called Trump “an idiot” and said he’d like to “punch him in the face.”
Reiner is currently promoting his new film, “Shock and Awe,” which follows a group of Knight Ridder journalists covering the lead-up to the 2003 Iraq War. It hits theaters on July 13.