Robert De Niro has once again hit out at Donald Trump and accused him of wanting to "destroy" America

Speaking at the New York premiere of Francis Ford Coppola's 'Megalopolis' in New York City on Monday (23.09.24), he said: "Just imagine Donald Trump directing this film.

"It'll never go anywhere, from total craziness. He cannot do anything. He cannot hold anything together ... He wants to destroy the country. And he could not do this movie. He could not do anything that has a structure."

The movie about a decaying Roman metropolis raises several political issues that are not so different to those America is facing today, with the director noting: "What's happening in America, in our republic, in our democracy is exactly how Rome lost their republic thousands of years ago."

De Niro warned: "I see the things in Francis' film about that, the parallels and so on.

"To me, it's not over 'till it's over and we have to go at this wholeheartedly to beat the Republicans - those Republicans, they're not real Republicans - and beat Trump.

"It's that simple. We cannot have that type of person. Everybody has to get out there and vote."

The 'Raging Bull' star, who has previously said he wanted to punch Trump, 78, in the face, launched a blistering public attack on the former reality TV judge in a surprise speech outside the court where the former US president was standing trial in New York, before he clashed with a mob of Trump supporters.

De Niro, who took a leading role in a campaign to re-elect 81-year-old Democrat Joe Biden before he quit as president, said: "When Trump ran in 2016, it was like a joke... the Twin Towers fell just over here, just over there.

"This part of the city was like a ghost town, but we vowed we would not allow terrorists to change our way of life.

"I love this city. I don't want to destroy it. Donald Trump wants to destroy not only the city, but the country, and eventually he can destroy the world.

"I don't mean to scare you. No, no, wait - maybe I do mean to scare you.

"If Trump returns to the White House, you can kiss these freedoms goodbye that we all take for granted. And elections - forget about it. That's over, that's done.

"If he gets in, I can tell you right now, he will never leave."

The actor added Trump was a "clown" and "tyrant", before stating: "We have a second chance, and no one is laughing now. This is the time to stop him.

"If he gets in. I can tell you right now, he will never leave.

"Is that the country we want to live in? Do we want him running this country and saying 'I'm not leaving? I'm dictator for life?'

"The only way to preserve our freedoms and hold on to our humanity is to vote for Joe Biden for president."