Robert De Niro Slams Trump at Cannes Film Festival: "Art is a Threat to Autocrats"

Actor and longtime Donald Trump critic Robert De Niro delivered a scathing attack on the president during his acceptance speech at the Cannes Film Festival, warning that art is under threat from autocratic leaders. De Niro accepted a Palme d'Or Lifetime Achievement Award at the festival, using the platform to criticize Trump's policies and actions. He specifically targeted the president's appointment to head the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, cuts to funding for the arts and humanities, and the threat of a 100 percent tariff on foreign films.

Key Takeaways:

De Niro attacked Trump as "America's philistine president" for his policies and actions affecting the arts.
He criticized the president's appointment to head the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and cuts to funding for the arts and humanities.
De Niro warned that a 100 percent tariff on foreign films would be devastating to the industry.
He called on the audience to take action against Trump's policies, urging "everyone who cares about liberty to organize, to protest...to vote."
De Niro explicitly stated that art is democratic, inclusive, and a threat to autocrats and fascists.
His speech came on the heels of a Cannes Film Festival nudity ban on the red carpet.

Statistics:

100 percent: The proposed tariff on foreign films that De Niro criticized.
1: The premier cultural institution affected by Trump's appointment to head the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Sources:

The actor's Cannes Film Festival speech, as reported by Variety
The White House did not immediately comment on De Niro's attack.