De Niro strong-arms Schwarzenegger over Trump
Actor refuses to pose for photo with former governor at Friends of the IDF gala dinner in California
Stuart Winer is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
Actor Robert De Niro refused to be photographed with fellow Hollywood legend Arnold Schwarzenegger during a Friends of the IDF gala dinner because the latter hadn’t declared his support for Democratic Party presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
The two stars were among more than 1,200 people who attended the event last Thursday at the Beverly Hilton.
De Niro accosted Schwarzenegger and persistently demanded to know who the former Republican governor of California would be voting for in the November 8 elections, Variety reported.
“If you’re supporting Trump, I want nothing to do with you,” De Niro declared, referring to Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Schwarzenegger has already made it clear he won’t be voting for Trump, tweeting on October 8 that he would not be supporting his party’s candidate.
“For the first time since I became a citizen in 1983, I will not vote for the Republican candidate for president,” the Terminator star wrote at the time.
As proud as I am to label myself a Republican, there is one label that I hold above all else – American. My full statement: pic.twitter.com/biRvY8S3aZ
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) October 8, 2016
However, that was apparently not good enough for De Niro, who wanted to hear a more proactive declaration.
“If you’re not part of the solution, then you’re part of the problem,” he said at the FIDF dinner.
De Niro previously made his own position clear on the presidential election in an October video posted online in which he said he would like to punch Trump in the face.
De Niro’s comments came after the publication of a 2005 video in which Trump, who was married to his current wife at the time, described attempts to have sex with a married woman. He also bragged about women letting him kiss them and grab their genitals because he is famous.
Despite the kerfuffle, De Niro and Schwarzenegger were seen shaking hands during the fundraiser evening.
Among those who attended the sold-out event was talk show host Larry King.
King, who according to Variety has interviewed every Israeli prime minister except the Jewish state’s first, David Ben-Gurion, agreed with De Niro that not voting Trump is just not enough.
“(Not voting) is a vote for Trump,” King said. “But if that’s the way they feel, I can’t tell them to vote. You don’t have to vote — but it’s a mistake. You should always pick one of the other.”
King went on to admit that the choice of nominees in this year’s election choice is the most dismal he has ever seen.
“This is the worst — and I’ve covered many of them,” King said. “I go back so far, I interviewed Eleanor Roosevelt when her son was mayor of Miami Beach. I was 22. I remember when I told Hillary [Clinton] that I knew Eleanor Roosevelt; she fainted. This is the worst election I’ve ever seen. Donald [Trump] has run a terrible campaign. There’s a lot of racism and sexism. Hillary has been on the defensive back and forth. Neither one is well liked — I’ve never seen anything like this. People are voting against — not for.”
King also noted his consistent support of Israel, saying: “These people have their backs to the wall. I don’t always support everything Israel does, but I sure support their defense forces. Nothing is black and white. They’re living a defensive life.”
Schwarzenegger, who was Californian governor from 2003 to 2011, recalled that his first trip abroad after entering office was to Israel.
“Everybody was up in arms because I didn’t visit Mexico or Canada, the neighboring countries, first. Israel, to me, has always been a country I love. I enjoyed visiting it for the first time in 1978 and I’ve been there many times since. It’s just a great ally of America and I always try to be very supportive.”
According to Variety, the Friends of the IDF Western Regional Gala dinner, which was chaired by producer and FIDF national board member Haim Saban and his wife Cheryl, raised some $38 million to support IDF soldiers and their families.
