Hollywood veteran Robert De Niro on Tuesday slammed US President Donald Trump for his 100 per cent tariff proposal on films produced outside the United States, calling him ‘America’s philistine president’ and a ‘threat’ to art.
While accepting the honorary Palme d’Or award at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, the 81-year-old actor said US citizens were now fighting for democracy.
“In my country, we are fighting like hell for the democracy we once took for granted,” he said. “That affects all of us here, because art is the crucible that brings people together, like tonight. Art looks for truth. Art embraces diversity. That’s why art is a threat.”
“That’s why we are a threat to autocrats and fascists. America’s philistine president ha[s] had himself appointed head of one of our premier cultural institutions [the Kennedy Center]. He has cut funding and support to the arts, humanities and education,” the veteran actor added, garnering loud applause from the audience.
De Niro went on to address Trump’s recent announcement about a 100% tariff on films produced outside the US.
“You can’t put a price on creativity,” De Niro said. “But apparently you can put a tariff on it. Of course, this is unacceptable. All of these attacks are unacceptable. And this isn’t just an American problem, it’s a global one. Like a film, we can’t just all sit back and watch. We have to act, and we have to act now,” he added.
De Niro concluded his speech by urging people to take matters into their own hands but “without violence, but with great passion and determination”.
Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio presented the Palme d’Or award to De Niro prior to the screening of the opening night film, the French comedy titled Partir Un Jour, at Cannes.
In the past, De Niro’s hit films including Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets and Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America have premiered at the festival.
President Trump’s announcement about a 100 per cent tariff on films produced outside America, made on his social media platform Truth Social earlier this month, claimed the tariffs were necessary due to a “concerted effort by other nations” that he labelled a “national security threat”.
He stated that agencies like the department of commerce would begin the process of implementation immediately, although no specifics were provided.
The announcement has left the entertainment industry scrambling for clarity. It remains uncertain whether the tariffs would extend to streaming platforms, whether they would be calculated on production costs or revenues, or how co-productions and partially US-based projects would be classified.
As confusion continues to grow, the White House recently issued a statement saying “no final decisions” have been made yet on putting a tariff on movies. “The Administration is exploring all options to deliver on President Trump’s directive to safeguard our country’s national and economic security while making Hollywood great again,” a spokesperson added.