By The American Tribune | Created at 2026-10-03 10:31:28 | Updated at 2026-10-03 11:11:42
56 minutes ago
Robert De Niro took a ghoulish swipe at Senator Mitch McConnell during a Democratic fundraiser, suggesting the Kentucky Republican would have to leave his coffin to cast a deciding Senate vote. The remark drew laughs and cheers from donors gathered to support two Democratic Senate candidates. De Niro delivered the insult while discussing efforts to restrict President Donald Trump’s military campaign in Iran. McConnell recently returned to Washington following months of recovery from a fall.
The Oscar-winning actor appeared at a private Ohio-Texas Victory Fund reception in Manhattan supporting Sherrod Brown of Ohio and James Talarico of Texas. Tickets reportedly ranged from $500 to $27,000, bringing together donors willing to spend heavily on the two Senate races. Celebrity jeweler Alexis Bittar, who helped raise money for Zohran Mamdani’s successful New York City mayoral campaign, partly organized the event. De Niro spoke before introducing the candidates.
Much of the actor’s roughly 10-minute address targeted Trump and his family. De Niro accused them of benefiting financially from the presidency while Americans faced higher costs and the consequences of the Iran conflict. He pointed to Trump’s oil and gas investments and his sons’ investments in defense technology businesses receiving Pentagon contracts.
De Niro turned to a recent Senate vote involving congressional authorization for the Iran war, which the Daily Mail reported he used to argue for electing the two Democrats. He said the measure had failed, 50–49. According to his calculation, replacing two Republican votes with votes from Brown and Talarico would have produced a 51–48 result favoring the resolution. Then he brought McConnell into the speech.
“They would not have to make Mitch McConnell leave his coffin to cast the deciding vote,” De Niro said. The room erupted in laughs and cheers, according to The Donor Class’s account of the fundraiser, which included footage and a transcript of the closing portion of his remarks. De Niro continued his pitch for the Democratic candidates.
Watch De Niro’s comment about McConnell here:
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McConnell, 84, returned to the Senate on September 14th after being hospitalized following a June 14 fall at his Washington home. He arrived in a wheelchair and spoke briefly with reporters before returning to the chamber. His recovery included inpatient rehabilitation, followed by continued treatment at home after his discharge in August. The injury had kept him away from six weeks of Senate business in Washington, with the congressional recess accounting for part of his longer absence from public view.
In a September 14th statement, McConnell described his recovery as “a long and often frustrating process.” He said lingering effects from childhood polio had complicated his rehabilitation. McConnell told Senate Majority Leader John Thune he would continue physical therapy on his doctors’ advice and try to attend critical votes when Republicans needed him. Speaking to reporters, he also identified the farm bill and support for NATO as priorities upon returning to work.
De Niro closed his fundraising remarks by urging the audience to support lawmakers who would govern according to the Constitution and backing Brown and Talarico by name. He introduced Brown as the first candidate to speak. The White House subsequently responded to the actor’s appearance in a statement provided to The Donor Class. A spokesperson dismissed De Niro with a terse five words: “Nobody pays attention to him.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.
