Hollywood actor Robert De Niro, who had said that he wanted to punch President-elect Donald Trump in the face, has now said that he can't do so since Trump has been elected as the 45th President of the United States.
"I can't do that now he's president. And I have to respect that position. I just have to see what he's going to do and how he's going to follow through on certain things. And as we even see now in a lot of cities, there's a lot of people getting very upset and protesting," De Niro said on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! show when the host asked if the actor would still punch Trump in the face.
"Are you still going to punch Donald Trump in the face because you could now get arrested for that, I think?" Kimmel had asked the actor.
De Niro, who appeared on the show on Wednesday night to talk about Trump's surprise victory, had earlier released a video in which he called the new president-elect "an idiot, a national disaster, an embarrassment to this country ... this fool, this bozo."
The video, released in October, also led to an argument with Republican supporter Jon Voight who was called "delusional" by De Niro for supporting Trump.
Kimmel asked De Niro whether the effect of the protests was opposite of what was expected or desired: "I'm sure President Obama is speaking from his own personal experience when he didn't get a lot of support and he's saying, 'Hey, we have to ... you know, we're all on the same team.' But occasionally teammates do punch each other in the face."
De Niro replied saying: "Maybe he [Obama] will when he sees him."
The actor also joked that he might have to use his Italian citizenship: "I'll probably have to move there."
