MSNBC host Joe Scarborough expressed his disappointment with Robert De Niro on Monday after the actor said, “F*ck Trump,” during the Tony Awards Sunday night.
The program decided not to play De Niro’s clip from the awards, instead opting to show a tweet from Steve Schmidt, another MSNBC political analyst, criticizing the actor’s actions.
The greatest actor of his generation could have said something important. He could have defended liberal democracy or freedom of speech and expression. He could have stood for Decency. Instead he strengthened Trump’s hand by mirroring his debasement of our culture. Be better . https://t.co/dicDBu8ReX
— Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) June 11, 2018
“If people [who] applauded De Niro’s statement last night don’t understand that they are helping Donald Trump’s reelection every time they do something like that, and they don’t understand,” Scarborough said.
“If your goal as apparently Robert De Niro’s goal is to take down the president, it’s the wrong way to do it, you’re playing right into his hands,” Kasie Hunt, another MSNBC reporter said.
“I’m going to say one thing — f**k Trump!” De Niro said at the Tony Awards. “It’s no longer ‘down with Trump.’ It’s ‘f**k Trump.” (RELATED: ROBERT DE NIRO SAID ‘F**K TRUMP’ AT THE TONY AWARDS, AND THE AUDIENCE WENT WILD)