President Donald Trump went on a fiery Truth Social tirade early Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, targeting actor Robert De Niro as well as Democratic Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, implying all three should be deported after each delivered separate rebuttals Feb. 24 responding to his State of the Union speech
The 82-year-old Academy Award winner hosted a counter-event titled “State of the Swamp” at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 24, speaking as Trump addressed Congress about a mile away at the U.S. Capitol. De Niro delivered an emotional appeal urging Americans to oppose the administration.
The president reacted swiftly. In a Feb. 25 morning post, Trump wrote that De Niro and the two congresswomen should “actually get on a boat” and leave the country.
“They should actually get on a boat with Trump Deranged Robert De Niro, another sick and demented person with, I believe, an extremely Low IQ, who has absolutely no idea what he is doing or saying—some of which is seriously CRIMINAL!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump mocked De Niro’s emotional remarks, comparing him unfavorably to longtime critic Rosie O’Donnell, who moved to Ireland in January 2025 to avoid the political climate of Trump’s second term. O’Donnell said she quietly returned to the U.S. in February to visit family but called the trip “scary.”
Trump also attacked Omar and Tlaib, who interrupted his State of the Union speech by shouting “You have killed Americans” after he addressed Minnesota’s Somali community. Their outburst referenced two U.S. citizens shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis in January—Renée Good on January 7 and Alex Pretti on January 24.
The president referred to the two progressive lawmakers as having “the bulging, bloodshot eyes of crazy people” and suggested they should be “sent back from where they came—as fast as possible.” Omar is a Somali-born naturalized American citizen, and Tlaib was born in Detroit, making Trump’s deportation suggestion legally impossible.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung heightened the rhetoric in comments to USA TODAY, calling De Niro a “washed-up has-been who hasn’t been relevant in 30 years” and advising him to seek “immediate treatment for a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his peanut-sized brain.”
The “State of the Swamp” forum was hosted by Defiance.org. Other guests included “Avengers” star Mark Ruffalo, who appeared via video, and former CNN correspondent Jim Acosta. De Niro also joined “The Best People with Nicolle Wallace” podcast on Feb. 23, calling Trump “the enemy of this country” and predicting he would resist leaving office when his term concludes.
The tensions extended beyond Hollywood. Marcelo Gomes da Silva, a 19-year-old guest at the State of the Union from Milford, Massachusetts, left the event early after the Department of Homeland Security publicly singled him out on social media, calling him “an illegal alien who has no right to be in our nation.” Gomes da Silva legally arrived in the U.S. from Brazil at age six with his parents, though his visa later expired. ICE detained him in May 2025, holding him for six days in Burlington before releasing him.
WIRED reported that a White House employee named Garrett Wade is likely behind the “Johnny MAGA” X account, which has nearly 300,000 followers and frequently promotes administration messaging without disclosing government involvement. WIRED reported that Wade serves as a rapid response manager for the Trump administration. The account has posted inflammatory content about the Minneapolis shootings and other polarizing issues, raising serious concerns over transparency and ethics.
De Niro, a U.S.-born actor who has been an outspoken critic of Trump for years, told the National Press Club on Feb. 24 that he feels “betrayed by my country” under the current administration. His call for peaceful resistance and renewed civic participation triggered a 24-hour media storm that grew well beyond the State of the Union itself.