HOLLYWOOD actor Robert De Niro took aim at the Trump administration’s stance on climate change, telling a packed audience at an international convention in the Middle East that he was visiting from a “backward” country which was suffering from “temporary insanity.”

De Niro spoke on Sunday at Dubai’s World Government Summit, and joined an impressive line-up of speakers including international dignitaries and heads of state, entrepreneurs, scientists, academics, and world financial leaders.

The summit focused on forecasting the future of global populations and quality of life, with sessions on climate change, artificial intelligence, youth, and space exploration.

I'm glad to welcome my friend Robert De Niro to #Dubai next week as part of the Climate Change Forum during @WorldGovSummit. Interesting discussions coming up on the impacts of #ClimateChange on Human Prosperity #ItAffectsYou pic.twitter.com/bPrA0ZyxUB — د. ثاني الزيودي (@ThaniAlZeyoudi) February 6, 2018

According to the New York Post, De Niro told the audience during a session that looked at the effects of climate change on human prosperity and happiness that in the country he comes from, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency had suggested just last week that global warming may be a good thing for humanity.

“I am talking about my own country, the United States of America,” said De Niro. “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,” he added.

De Niro received applause and laughs when he said the US “will eventually cure itself by voting our dangerous leader” out of office.

The trip was not De Niro’s first to Dubai. In October 2016, he spoke as part of a delegation at an event designed to boost tourism in the Caribbean.

He also controversially gave his opinion about then Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, saying he would love to “punch him in the face”.

This article first appeared in the New York Post and is republished with permission.