Step aside, ABC’s The View had an hour filled with outrageous rants before well-known actor and Trump critic, Robert De Niro, took the platform. His explosive rant about Trump, filled with wild presumptions and foul language, had much to say about the state of our media.
The episode started with Sunny Hostin lamenting over the racial composition of Trump’s courtroom and George Stephanopoulos commending the Deep State. But it got even more heated when De Niro appeared on screen. According to him, the former President had a dangerous similarity to Hitler and Mussolini – a claim based on what, exactly? De Niro seems to believe that Trump would fulfill every dark prediction if reelected. In response to this anticipated outcome, De Niro’s striking way to show his disapproval was by uttering a storm of obscenities that forced the show’s executive producer to mute not only De Niro, but the entire show.
Turns out, the seasoned actor didn’t discriminate only against those in power – but also their followers. He accused them of nurturing anger and hate, a claim he substantiated with an elegant stream of profanities that again led to a blackout. As an actor who’s entertained millions over the years, one wonders what went wrong for De Niro to equate disagreement with a political leader with blind hatred.
Most baffling of all, De Niro contradicted his own argument by confessing his desire to physically assault Trump for suggesting the same to a rally disruptor years ago. By his own logic, shouldn’t he be condemning such behavior rather than echoing it?
Not even sparing himself from foul language, De Niro’s rant charged on, forcing the sound system to resemble a broken radio. The gathering ended with Whoopi Goldberg contributing to the confusion, stating without any substantial evidence that if Trump were to be reelected, he would remain in power until his last breath.
The outlandish episode ended with De Niro and Goldberg predicting civil strife if Trump won the election, painting a chaotic image of the future based on little more than their imagination.
This hour has much to say about modern media’s relationship with civil discourse – or rather, the lack thereof. It’s perplexing how an actor who’s entertained millions can reduce his arguments to tasteless ranting when discussing serious subjects. It’s even more disconcerting when media platforms, in their crave for sensationalism, provide stage for such noise. De Niro’s tirade failed to add value to the discourse on political matters – if anything, it served only as a divisive spectacle.
