Robert De Niro, the actor best known for his roles in “Taxi Driver,” “Goodfellas” and “The Godfather II,” spoke on behalf of President Joe Biden’s campaign Tuesday at a surprise press conference outside Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal hush money trial.
“We New Yorkers used to tolerate him when he was just another grubby real estate hustler, masquerading as a big shot,” De Niro said, describing the former president as a “two-bit playboy” who had been “lying his way into the tabloids.” About 20 Trump supporters were spotted in a park nearby waving flags, including one that declared: “Trump or Death.”
“I love this city,” De Niro continued, per the Associated Press. “I don’t want to destroy it. Donald Trump wants to destroy not only the city but the country, and, eventually, he could destroy the world.”
De Niro was joined by two former police officers, Harry Dunn and Michael Fanone, who defended the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The actor spoke about the attack, blaming it on Trump and describing it as “coward’s violence,” saying the former president “doesn’t get blood on his hands – no, he doesn’t, he directs the mob to do his dirty work for him.”
De Niro also addressed Trump’s policy agenda, which he described an assault on American liberty.
“I don’t mean to scare you. No, wait, maybe I do mean to scare you,” he said. “If Trump returns to the White House, you can kiss these freedoms goodbye that we all take for granted.”
A spokesperson for the Biden campaign, Michael Tyler, explained to reporters that De Niro was invited to speak in order to take advantage of the crowd of reporters attending Trump’s trial.
“It’s easy to talk about the choice in this election when the entire news media is here day in and day out,” he said.