Robert De Niro spoke to the BBC about how he is finding life in New York City amid the coronavirus outbreak, and issued a damning condemnation of President Donald Trump's leadership.

The two-time Oscar-winning actor told Newsnight's Emily Maitlis that he finds it "scary" that there has not been stronger criticism of Trump's response to the pandemic.

De Niro, who has been a long-time critic of the 45th President of the United States, told the BBC that it was "Shakespearean, the whole thing, you've got a lunatic people are trying to dance around."

"They're doing it in the [Senate] hearings a little more, trying to say tactfully that this is what will happen, Fauci is doing that... it's appalling. [Trump] wants to be re-elected. He doesn't care how many people die," he continued. "He doesn't care for those people, and the people he pretends to care about are the people he has the most disdain for."

When Maitlis asked De Niro whether he thought that Trump's supporters would continue to vote for him, he asserted that they were "deluding themselves" by believing that Trump cares about them.

The 76-year-old, however, had nothing but praise for New York governor Andrew Cuomo's response to the novel coronavirus. "[He] has done a great job... he's done what Trump should have done but he doesn't have a clue how to do that," De Niro said.

Speaking of New York City, he continued, "[It] is kind of like a ghost town... it's surreal... then you see other parts of the world, other great big cities of the world, are also in the same situation," adding, "It's interesting, it's kind of like a science fiction movie but it's real."

Back in 2018, the actor expressed his opinions of the president by yelling "F*ck Trump" at the Tony Awards - an assertion that Trump responded to on Twitter.

"Robert De Niro, a very Low IQ individual, has received too many shots to the head by real boxers in movies. I watched him last night and truly believe he may be 'punch-drunk'," Trump wrote.

This comes after the president was widely criticised after telling a Chinese-American reporter to 'ask China' during Monday's press conference - a briefing that he then abruptly ended.

Robert De Niro spoke to the BBC about how he is finding life in New York City amid the coronavirus outbreak, and issued a damning condemnation of President Donald Trump's leadership.

The two-time Oscar-winning actor told Newsnight's Emily Maitlis that he finds it "scary" that there has not been stronger criticism of Trump's response to the pandemic.

De Niro, who has been a long-time critic of the 45th President of the United States, told the BBC that it was "Shakespearean, the whole thing, you've got a lunatic people are trying to dance around."

"They're doing it in the [Senate] hearings a little more, trying to say tactfully that this is what will happen, Fauci is doing that... it's appalling. [Trump] wants to be re-elected. He doesn't care how many people die," he continued. "He doesn't care for those people, and the people he pretends to care about are the people he has the most disdain for."

When Maitlis asked De Niro whether he thought that Trump's supporters would continue to vote for him, he asserted that they were "deluding themselves" by believing that Trump cares about them.

The 76-year-old, however, had nothing but praise for New York governor Andrew Cuomo's response to the novel coronavirus. "[He] has done a great job... he's done what Trump should have done but he doesn't have a clue how to do that," De Niro said.

Speaking of New York City, he continued, "[It] is kind of like a ghost town... it's surreal... then you see other parts of the world, other great big cities of the world, are also in the same situation," adding, "It's interesting, it's kind of like a science fiction movie but it's real."

Back in 2018, the actor expressed his opinions of the president by yelling "F*ck Trump" at the Tony Awards - an assertion that Trump responded to on Twitter.

"Robert De Niro, a very Low IQ individual, has received too many shots to the head by real boxers in movies. I watched him last night and truly believe he may be 'punch-drunk'," Trump wrote.

This comes after the president was widely criticised after telling a Chinese-American reporter to 'ask China' during Monday's press conference - a briefing that he then abruptly ended.