Streep, an ardent supporter of Trump's rival Hillary Clinton, slammed the next US President in her scathing speech while accepting the Cecil B DeMille Award at Golden Globes.
The 67-year-old three-time Oscar winner took swipes at Trump's divisive rhetoric without naming him as she cautioned against powerful people using their position to "bully others".
"But who are we and what is Hollywood, anyway? It is just a place with a bunch of people from other places," Streep said in her speech while accepting the Cecil B DeMille Award.
"Amy Adams was born in Vicenza, Italy. And Natalie Portman was born in Jerusalem. Where are their birth certificates? And (Indian-origin) Dev Patel was born in Kenya, raised in London, and is here playing an Indian raised in Tasmania," Streep said as she highlighted the rich diversity of Hollywood.
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Streep, who is one of the most respected names in Hollywood, said the "performance" that stood out this year did not belong to an actor but to Trump when he publicly mocked a disabled reporter.
"There was nothing good about it, but it did its job. It made its intended audience laugh, and show their teeth. It was that moment when the person asking to sit in the most respected seat in our country imitated a disabled reporter. Someone he outranked in privilege, power and the capacity to fight back.
"Disrespect invites disrespect, violence incites violence. When the powerful use their position to bully others we all lose," she said.
Responding to Streep's comments, Trump tweeted, "Meryl Streep, one of the most overrated actresses in Hollywood, doesn't know me but attacked last night at the Golden Globes. "She is a Hillary flunky who lost big."
Trump also flatly denied that he had intended to make fun of the Times reporter Serge F Kovaleski.