Robert De Niro Becomes Emotional as Amy Poehler Praises His 'Truth to Power' Stance

Actress Amy Poehler expressed gratitude to Robert De Niro on her podcast, "Good Hang," for his vocal criticism of former President Donald Trump and his administration, an acknowledgment that moved the veteran actor to tears.

Poehler lauded De Niro for speaking out against political trends, drawing a parallel to situations where an adult intervenes to correct inappropriate behavior. "To see a person like yourself, the age that you are and the status that you are, it reminds me of – the best way I can describe it is when it's like if someone's giving a terrible speech at a wedding, and they're ruining the wedding, and the wedding is America and there's another adult who says like, 'We don't talk like that. That's not how you're supposed to treat people. This is insane,'" Poehler stated, adding that De Niro's actions made people feel "safe."

De Niro, visibly emotional, thanked Poehler for her words, describing the current state of affairs in the U.S. as "so upsetting" and "so crazy."

"It's true. It is," Poehler responded. "There's not a lot of men who, in your position, who do that and White men of a certain age, like who, frankly, you know, have a ton of power and don't use that responsibility in a way that they could. So, thank you."

De Niro reflected on the ongoing political climate, suggesting that its transparency, while difficult, is beneficial because it will be seen again. He emphasized the need for constant vigilance, stating, "And we have to always be on guard with what's happening now." The actor also conveyed that people must continue to fight, even when facing feelings of hopelessness.

This sentiment echoes remarks De Niro made in February 2026 during an interview with Nicolle Wallace on her podcast, "The Best People." At that time, De Niro expressed his worries about a potential campaign of retribution against New York under the Trump administration. He urged continuous resistance, saying, "People have to resist, resist, resist, resist, resist. That's the only way. There's no magic. There's no nothing – people are not going to go away, even if Trump dies for some reason by having an illness or something... Parts of that movement are still there, and that's the scary part. It has to be neutralized by the people."

During that earlier interview, De Niro also discussed the importance of unity, stating, "You have to lift people up. You have to bring them together. Period. You can't divide people. You can't win that way. It's a no-win situation." In June of the same year, De Niro publicly stated that he could not love an America led by Trump.