Robert De Niro says he'd return to 'SNL' as Robert Mueller, hopes to throw Trump in jail
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April 16, 2014. Robert De Niro poses on the red carpet upon arriving for the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival opening night in New York. (Reuters)
Following his impersonation as special counsel Robert Mueller on the latest episode of “Saturday Night Live,” actor Robert De Niro says that he hopes the gag role won’t be his last.
Speaking on NBC’s “Today” show, the 74 year old actor reflected on his appearance in the show’s cold open this week. In it, he portrayed Mueller giving a lie detector test to Donald Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen, played by his “Meet the Parents’ co-star Ben Stiller. The bit was typical for the late-night sketch show, but the two stars guest appearances were a surprise.
When asked directly by NBC’s Craig Melvin if he’d be the show’s new regular Mueller impersonator, the star gave a candid answer.
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“I hope there’s a couple where I interrogate [Trump], I arrest him, and then I take him to jail,” he said.
The star clarified that he was talking about the president, but mentioned that he would also love to be portrayed throwing Cohen in prison as well. De Niro has been unusually politically active with regards to his dissent of the Trump administration, a stance he defended on “Today.”
“I have never been this active,” De Niro said. “But when I see what’s going on with this guy, you have no choice but to be active. It’s past the point of being passive. People have to speak out. They have to speak out over and over and over again. This guy, this administration, is beyond belief. It has to stop.”
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De Niro, co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival, had more to say about Trump while promoting this year's event. At a ickoff luncheon for the festival Wednesday, he referred to Trump as "our Lowlife-in-Chief" and said he "wouldn't recognize the truth if it came inside a bucket of his beloved Colonel Sanders Fried Chicken."
As previously reported, the star hasn’t been shy about voicing his disapproval of Trump in less-than-respectful terms. In February, the star claimed that the entire country is suffering “temporary” insanity at a World Government Summit in Dubai.
In March, he commented on Trump’s upbringing, noting that he had to overcome being “rich and spoiled… and endure the heartbreak of bone spurs.”
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.