De Niro and the Hate America Coalition is Doubling Down

Not long ago, this writer offered commentary on the coalition of left-wing America haters. A follow-up piece addressed the provocative anti-Trump and anti-American rhetoric of actor Robert De Niro. Some readers believed the criticism landed too heavily on the has been thespian and perhaps misrepresented his true feelings. Weeell … new evidence has surfaced. Ironically, it comes from De Niro himself.

In a recent speech before a gathering of fellow America haters in New York City, De Niro made his position unmistakable. He stated that the familiar phrase “We all love our country” stuck in his throat. “Because our country is not so lovable,” he told the crowd. He went on to say that loving America had begun to sound like “an abused spouse saying they love their abuser.” He continued with a litany of refusals. “I cannot love a country that starts stupid and inhumane wars, killing thousands of innocents and indirectly causing the deaths and suffering of millions more.” He added, “I cannot love a country that takes healthcare away from millions of people and uses that money to enrich their pals in the Trump-Epstein class.” Most directly, he declared, “I cannot love a country that is led by a racist, misogynist, xenophobic tyrant. “And let me just say it. I cannot love the country that is led by Donald Trump and his sycophant Congress.”

De Niro’s irrational hatred for President Trump has been on public display for years. That is a separate matter. It remains entirely possible to disagree with a president and to oppose his policies with vigor and still maintain genuine affection for America. That distinction once defined the American way. Citizens can argue fiercely over policy and philosophy while preserving respect for the constitutional republic that protects the arguments themselves.

The secret of America’s endurance has always been the capacity to disagree, even bitterly, while retaining patriotic regard for the system of ordered liberty. By declaring outright hatred for America, De Niro and those who echo him, attack the very framework that grants them the platform to speak. No one disputes De Niro’s right to express his views, however overheated they may be. As one clear-eyed observer noted long ago, the right to speak freely carries no concomitant right to be taken seriously. The proper response to such rhetoric is vigorous rebuttal. These statements should not pass without direct challenge.

De Niro does not stand alone. He personifies a growing constituency whose animus reaches far beyond any single president or administration. They reject the nation itself – and have for decades. That is why they burn flags, refuse to say the Pledge of Allegiance, and turn their backs on the National Anthem. They are the folks who criticize and demean America’s semiquincentennial celebratory events – parades, rallies, monuments, etc. Without a common patriotic attachment to America, the country loses its shared culture. It ceases to exist as a unified republic and becomes instead a balkanized collection of tribal interest groups, each pursuing its own grievances.

De Niro’s contempt rests on hyperbolic political bias and a shallow understanding of what America actually is. He and the broader coalition he represents appear unable or unwilling to distinguish between policy disputes and existential rejection of the country that has afforded them extraordinary success and freedom. One might have expected a man of De Niro’s age and accomplishments to offer something more than recycled campus slogans dressed up as insight. Instead, he supplies fresh ammunition to those who have decided that America itself is the problem.

This doubling down by the hate America coalition has real consequences. A republic cannot remain cohesive when influential voices in entertainment, media, and politics openly profess such hatred for the homeland rather than commitment to its improvement. Patriotism does not require blindness to flaws. It does require a fundamental loyalty to the ideals and institutions that have allowed America to correct its course more successfully than any other large nation in history. Rebuttal is not optional. It is the duty of those who still believe the American experiment in democracy remains worth honoring and defending.

So, there ‘tis.