Robert De Niro expressed anger at the Gotham Awards ceremony when part of his speech was cut, particularly his criticism of Donald Trump. De Niro was surprised that those in charge of the event had edited his speech, and therefore decided to read it in full from his phone. He began his speech by saying, "the lie has become a weapon of the devil ... the former president (Donald Trump) lied to us 30,000 times during his presidency and he continues his current revenge campaign. But with all his lies, he cannot hide his spirit. He attacks the weak, destroys nature's blessings, and shows disrespect, for example, by using 'Pocahontas' as an insult.” Some sources revealed that the team behind his film "Killers of the Flower Moon", for which he received a historical icon award, wanted his speech to focus on the movie instead of other topics. A source also disclosed that there was no intention to silence De Niro and that the incident resulted from a misunderstanding, pointing out that Apple and the industry were not aware that De Niro did not agree to the modification. Robert De Niro is one of many Hollywood celebrities who has been outspokenly critical of former President Donald Trump. He has used various platforms to criticize the former president, from acceptance speeches to interviews. De Niro has also used humor to criticize Trump. For example, in 2019, he said that he dreamed "of a world where the president of the United States does not make fun of disabled people, belittle women, uses the White House for his own benefit, and does not lie every day."