Actor Robert De Niro trashed the United States while speaking in the Middle East on Sunday for electing "dangerous leader" President Donald Trump.
The Dirty Grandpa star was speaking at Dubai’s World Government Summit when he went off on Trump for ignoring the threat of global warming.
"I am talking about my own country, the United States of America. We don’t like to say we are a ‘backward’ country so let’s just say we’re suffering from a case of temporary insanity," De Niro said, according to the Associated Press.
AP also reported that De Niro received "applause and laughs" when he said America "will eventually cure itself by voting our dangerous leader" out of office.
Human rights organization Freedom House considers the United Arab Emirates "Not Free," noting the nation's restriction of civil liberties, ban on political parties, and complete rule by seven hereditary families.
De Niro previously expressed somewhat conflicting opinions of Trump before and after the 2016 presidential election.
"He talks how he'd like to punch people in the face? Well, I'd like to punch him in the face," De Niro said in a October 2016 get-out-the-vote video. He went on to call Trump a "pig," a "bozo," and a "bullshit artist."
After Trump won, he told ITK that he was taking more of a wait-and-see approach. "I would only say that we’re all hoping, waiting and hoping, that he will lead the country in a way that’ll benefit everyone and benefit our neighbors around the world," he said.