Robert De Niro made an anti-immigrant attack on the founder of a major American news network, accusing a naturalized citizen of “not even being an American.”
The actor and persistent critic of President Trump made the xenophobic comments about Rupert Murdoch, saying the Australian-born media mogul’s ownership of, among other things, Fox News should disqualify him from citizenship.
The remarks came in a wide-ranging interview in the Daily Beast, in the context of Mr. De Niro calling Mr. Trump presumptuous for having the kinds of rallies he has — “how dare you do that.”
“And I think about [Rupert] Murdoch, and what he did to this country. He’s an immigrant who became a citizen, and look what he contributed?” he continued.
“It’s disgraceful — beyond disgraceful, beyond cynical. Fox News, it’s all about money and power. At what cost? And you’re not even an American,” Mr. de Niro falsely said.
“You’re someone who wanted to be an American, and this is what you gave us?” he concluded incredulously.
Mr. Murdoch was born in Australia in 1931 and still holds numerous media properties there as well as the United States and many other countries around the globe.
He became a naturalized American in 1985 and repudiated his Australian citizenship, as a prerequisite to owning U.S. TV stations.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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