On Tuesday, Robert De Niro stepped up to the microphones outside a New York courthouse, where Donald Trump is currently facing trial, and issued a scathing rebuke, labeling the former president a menacing “clown” who would seize absolute power if given another term.
De Niro, a steadfast champion of liberal values and vocal Trump detractor, has substantially expanded his efforts to help Joe Biden secure another term, notably starring in a gripping new television advertisement for the Democratic Party.
“When Trump ran in 2016, it was like a joke,” DeNiro told reporters, calling the former president a “clown” and a “tyrant.”
“We have a second chance, and no one is laughing now. This is the time to stop him.”
Trump has turned the courthouse into an impromptu press briefing room, using daily TV appearances to decry the trial as a political hit job, assail the judge’s credibility, and rehash discredited conspiracy theories about the last election’s legitimacy.
De Niro’s press conference, staged amidst a tumultuous scene of Trump backers and blaring car alarms, seemed a calculated effort to push back against Trump’s pervasive media presence and reclaim the spotlight.
“If he gets in. I can tell you right now, he will never leave,” De Niro said. “Is that the country we want to live in? Do we want him running this country and saying ‘I’m not leaving? I’m dictator for life’?”
“The only way to preserve our freedoms and hold on to our humanity is to vote for Joe Biden for president,” the legendary actor said.
He accused Trump of directing “an angry mob” to storm the US Capitol after his 2020 election defeat to Biden, adding that the Republican “ran and hid in the White House” during the violence, in which dozens of police officers were injured.
De Niro was joined by retired officers Harry Dunn and Michael Fanone, who bravely survived the January 6, 2021, insurrection that sought to thwart Congress’s validation of Biden’s presidential victory.
Officer Harry Dunn, who bravely defended the Capitol, will join two fellow officers in a targeted campaign push to boost President Biden’s chances in critical swing states, just weeks before the president faces off against Trump in a highly anticipated debate on June 27.
As part of their campaign efforts, the officers will underscore Trump’s reported mental breakdown in the aftermath of the 2020 election, which the campaign claims is exemplified by his pledge to pardon rioters if he regains the presidency.
“Donald Trump and his unhinged quest for power and retribution pose an existential threat to our democracy,” said Dunn, who bid unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination to run for a Maryland seat in the House of Representatives.
“He continues to embrace political violence, going as far as saying there will be a ‘bloodbath’ if he loses again and promising to be a dictator on ‘day one’ and pardon January 6 rioters.”
As the nation gears up for the upcoming election, prosecutors and defense attorneys presented their final arguments on Tuesday in the highly anticipated hush money trial of former President Trump, a case that could have significant implications for his political future.