Robert De Niro says he never wanted anything to do with Donald Trump: 'Who wants to meet a clown like that?'

Trump has called De Niro "a total loser."

Robert De Niro, an outspoken critic of Donald Trump, was never a fan.

The actor was asked recently if he and the former president and current Republican nominee had ever run into one another in New York in the 1970s and '80s.

"No, I never wanted anything to do with him," De Niro said on Friday's episode of Max's Who's Talking to Chris Wallace? "He's a jerk, an idiot. Who wants to meet a clown like that?"

The Taxi Driver star explained why he planned to support Trump's Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, in the Nov. 5 presidential election.

"You've got to help everybody," he said. "People are going to get overlooked. That happens, but at least you have somebody who's sensitive to the condition of the country, the people. And I'm not saying this like this because it's Kamala Harris, but it is. We need someone like her to do it."

He continued, "She'll make mistakes. Of course, everybody does. But we need somebody with the right intentions. This guy does not have the right intentions, and everybody knows that. It's insanity. Period."

Related: Robert De Niro narrates scathing Joe Biden campaign ad attacking Donald Trump: 'Trump wants revenge'

In May, De Niro's rant about Trump on The View had to be censored after "he said f--- a few times," a representative for him confirmed to Entertainment Weekly.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

"I used to see these things — I didn't understand how he and Rosie O'Donnell used to get into it," De Niro said of the former cohost of the daytime talk show. "I see what a hateful, mean-spirited, awful thing he is. He's vicious."

Related: Donald Trump says Taylor Swift will 'pay a price' for endorsing Kamala Harris: 'I actually like Mrs. Mahomes much better'

In the sit-down Wallace also asked the two-time Oscar winner about having referred to Trump as a gangster — something De Niro has played several times on screen.

"Well, yeah, because he thinks he's a gangster," the actor replied. "He does everything like a gangster." De Niro added that he doesn't think Trump would give up power if he were elected again.

In the past Trump has referred to De Niro as "a total loser" whose "acting talents have greatly diminished."

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.