Martin Scorsese has compared US President-elect Donald Trump to Gangs Of New York character Bill ‘The Butcher’ Cutting – a violent hatchet-wielding gang leader.

The award-winning film-maker, who also made a cameo appearance in the 2002 hit movie he directed, said America was “still stunned” by last month’s presidential election and raised concerns over the Republican’s treatment of the press.

Speaking to Channel 4 News, Martin said: “We’re trying to keep it (the republic). I don’t know how that’s going to happen under these circumstances. It’s unprecedented and there’s a great deal of anger.

Martin Scorces
(Joel Ryan/AP)

“Everybody is living together in that country. Take a look at Manhattan alone, the different ethnic groups all living together. There’s friction, there’s violence, there’s community and so imagine that spread out all over the country.

“Also, reaction against, almost like Gangs Of New York, where you have the Bill ‘The Butcher’ becoming president, in a sense who is a nativist.

“He’s a nativist. A member of the Wide Awakes, they call themselves, or the Know-Nothings and unfortunately, maybe the establishment itself could be at times be compared to Tammany Hall, which worked a certain way. It was a machine, it worked but I think it was kind of an angry reaction.”

Donald Trump
(John Minchillo/AP)

Set in the mid-19th century, Gangs Of New York follows ‘The Butcher’ – played by Daniel Day-Lewis – and his gang, who end up in a violent confrontation with Leonardo DiCaprio’s character Amsterdam Vallon and his immigrant allies.

The Goodfellas director also questioned the Electoral College – the US system of electing a president.

Scorsese said: “Hillary (Clinton) won the popular vote by two million. (Al) Gore won the popular vote back in 2000. What happened?

“But maybe that system has to be looked at. Not specifically because of him but for many different reasons. How could you have the majority of the people choose one person and a system decide on another?”