De Niro crashes court hearing, blasts Trump’s stance on birthright citizenship

FIRST ON FOX: Actor Robert De Niro was in the nation’s capital Wednesday, sitting in the same packed courtroom as President Donald Trump and some of his closest advisers during Supreme Court oral arguments on citizenship rights.

Fox News Digital caught up with De Niro as he was leaving the courthouse, but De Niro said he had no perspective on how the arguments would play out.

“I’m waiting to have one, to get one – I’m not sure because I could hear, but not hear. It’s complicated. So, I can’t say,” De Niro responded when asked about the oral arguments he had just witnessed before the High Court.

De Niro described the Trump administration’s argument on the issue — that children born to parents residing illegally or temporarily in the United States are not U.S. citizens — as a way for Republicans to “get rid of people they don’t want.”

ALITO INVITES SCALIA ANALOGY IN FIGHT FOR BIRTH RIGHT CITIZENSHIP AGAINST ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

Robert De Niro leaves the Supreme Court orally on Wednesday April 1, 2026. (Nicolas Ballasy/Fox News)

“It’s that simple,” De Niro said.

The actor and activist, who spoke at a “No Kings” protest in New York over the weekend, was criticized for his anti-Trump rhetoric. He called the president an “asshole,” a “mean little prick,” a “petulant little punk,” said he “would like to punch him in the face,” and declared Trump an “enemy” of the United States.

Asked about claims that he suffers from “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” sometimes referred to by the acronym “TDS,” De Niro called it “nonsense.”

“People don’t like him for a reason,” De Niro retorted. “All the terrible things he did. If he had done nice things, then he could have, he had the chance – he became president – to do nice things, not hate, not retaliate, not just downright mean things. If he had done nice things, people would love him. But he has a problem. He’s damaged.”

SCOTUS NEEDS TO WEIGH FUTURE BIRTH-BIRTH CITIZENSHIP PROTECTIONS FOR MILLIONS – HERE’S THE ISSUES

People demonstrate in front of the U.S. Supreme Court ahead of the scheduled arrival of U.S. President Donald Trump on April 1, 2026 in Washington, DC. The Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in Trump v. Barbara to determine whether President Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship is constitutional. (Al Drago/Getty Images)

When asked what specifically bothered him about Trump, De Niro said “everything.”

“Everything we all know now,” De Niro added.

Reports on Wednesday indicated that the Supreme Court appeared ready to reject Trump’s citizenship rights argument. The arguments reportedly lasted more than two hours and, in addition to Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi was present, as was Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

DC celebrity chef and activist José Andrés leads protesters in front of the Supreme Court on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

De Niro was reportedly seated in seats reserved for judges’ guests, according to the Associated Press.

“When crowds chant ‘No Kings,’ what I really hear — as we all know — is ‘No Trump.’ There have been other presidents who have tested the constitutional limits of their power, but none have posed such an existential threat to our freedoms and security — none — except Trump,” De Niro told supporters at the No Kings rally he attended this weekend.

“He needs to be stopped, and he needs to be stopped now,” De Niro added, calling members of Trump’s cabinet “morons.”