Robert De Niro compares Trump to his Taxi Driver character and says he shouldn’t run for president
Hollywood legend says the media is now starting to push back and say 'Come on Donald, this is ridiculous, this is nuts, this is insane'
HOLLYWOOD legend Robert De Niro has said Donald Trump should not run for the White House because he is “totally nuts”.
And he has compared the brash billionaire to Travis Bickle, his unhinged character in the 1976 movie Taxi Driver.
In the film he plays a depressed, lonely war veteran who convinces himself to take action to “wash all this scum off the streets” and then tries to assassinate an American Senator.
De Niro made the comments about Trump to an audience in Sarajevo as he presented a digital version of Martin Scorsese’s film, to mark its 40th anniversary.
He said: "I don't know, it's crazy that people like Donald Trump ... he shouldn't even be where he is, so God help us.”
After widespread applause he added: "What he's been saying is really totally crazy, ridiculous ... he is totally nuts.
"But I think now they are really starting to push back, the media ... finally they are starting to say: ‘Come on Donald, this is ridiculous, this is nuts, this is insane.’"
De Niro likened Trump to Bickle, saying: “One of the things to me was just the irony at the end.
“[Bickle] is back driving a cab, celebrated, which is kind of relevant in some way today too … “People like Donald Trump who shouldn’t be where he is so … God help us.”
Brash billionaire Trump has hit the headlines with his inflammatory statements and policies ever since he began his campaign to be the next President of the USA.
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In recent days these have included saying Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton “founded” ISIS and mocking the family of a dead American Muslim army captain.
He has also hinted that gun rights supporters could take up arms against Hillary Clinton and called for all US Muslims to be tested for Sharia law sympathies.
And his policy proposals include building a wall on the Mexico-USA border so no Mexicans can come to the States, and banning Muslims.
Trump has accused the American media of taking his comments out of context.
On Twitter today he wrote: “If the disgusting and corrupt media covered me honestly and didn't put false meaning into the words I say, I would be beating Hillary by 20%.
“My rallies are not covered properly by the media. They never discuss the real message and never show crowd size or enthusiasm.
He insisted he was being sarcastic when he claimed President Obama and Hillary Clinton started ISIS.
Later he tweeted: “ISIS gained tremendous strength during Hillary Clinton's term as Secretary of State. When will the dishonest media report the facts!”
De Niro is in Sarajevo for the city’s 22nd film festival – which was founded as an act of defiance towards the end of the 1992-1995 siege during the Bosnian War.
He was honoured with a lifetime achievement award for his contribution to film and at the ceremony he said: "I will treasure this award — my Heart of Sarajevo — because I don't think there is another city in the world that has shown such heart in the face of so much tragedy.”