Was it a masterful move or a mistake? Did his message get out despite pro-Trumpers trying to drown him out with constant shouts and even a constant car honk?
A-list actor Robert De Niro showed up outside the Trump trial courthouse with two January 6 police officers. Di Niro has been one of former President Donald Trump’s most outspoken and notable celebrity critics and recently did the narration for a blistering anti-Trump ad.
Some pundits have been complaining that President Joe Biden’s campaign has been overshadowed by Trump, his trial and his reporter-crammed press events in a room outside the courtroom during his trial. So the Biden campaign slated what was billed as a presser.
The complete video is above. De Nero delivered his remarks as pro-Trumpers tried to drown him out or disorient him. After Di Nero’s remarks a Trump aide and some Trump supporters online described the Oscar winner and acting icon De Niro as a “washed up” and “failed” actor.
NBC News gives this excerpt from Di Nero’s remarks:
“The Twin Towers fell just over here, just over there. This part of the city was like a ghost town, but we vowed we would not allow terrorists to change our way of life. … I love this city. I don’t want to destroy it. Donald Trump wants to destroy not only the city, but the country, and eventually he can destroy the world,” De Niro said.
“I don’t mean to scare you. No, no, wait — maybe I do mean to scare you,” De Nero continued. “If Trump returns to the White House, you can kiss these freedoms goodbye that we all take for granted. And elections — forget about it. That’s over, that’s done. If he gets in, I can tell you right now, he will never leave.
And what happened as Di Niro left the scene:
After the press conference, on the way back to his car, De Nero mixed it up with some pro-Trump protesters, who yelled that he’s a “wannabe,” “paid sell-out” to the Democratic National Committee, “nobody” and a “little punk” whose “movies suck.”
“You’re not going to intimidate,” De Niro replied. “That’s what Trump does. … We are going to fight back. We’re trying to be gentlemen in this world, the Democrats. You are gangsters. You are gangsters!”
“You’re washed up,” a protester yelled.
“F— you,” De Niro shot back.
And a Trump campaign aide’s reaction:
“The best that Biden can do is roll out a washed-up actor,” Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller said.
On Friday, the Biden campaign released a new ad featuring De Niro — who was nominated this year for an Oscar for the movie “Killers of the Flower Moon” — that will air on television and digital platforms across battleground states.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.