Robert De Niro thinks Donald Trump is like the main character of his classic 1976 movie Taxi Driver, the mentally disturbed Travis Bickle.
“What he has been saying is totally crazy, ridiculous, stuff that shouldn’t be even — he is totally nuts,” the actor said Friday during a Q&A session at the Sarajevo Film Festival.
When the moderator asked De Niro to elaborate on Bickle’s mental illness, the first thing that seemed to have crossed the actor’s mind was the Republican presidential nominee.
“One of the things to me was just the irony at the end [of the movie]. [Bickle] is back driving a cab, celebrated, which is kind of relevant in some way today too,” said De Niro.
Related Stories
“People like Donald Trump, who shouldn’t be where he is so … God help us,” added the actor.
Attendees responded with frantic applause.
De Niro said the media had given Trump too much attention, but are now starting to say, “Come on, Donald, this is ridiculous, this is nuts, this is insane.”
De Niro opened the 22nd Sarajevo Film Festival on Friday, presented Martin Scorsese’s restored Taxi Driver and received the festival’s first lifetime achievement award.
