American actor Robert De Niro speaks in support of US President Joe Biden in Manhattan Criminal Court as former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends his criminal trial for allegedly concealing drug payments secret money in New York, May 28, 2024.
Charly Triballeau | AFP | Getty Images
Legendary actor Robert De Niro called Donald Trump a “loser” and a “clown” on Tuesday, standing just feet from the Manhattan courtroom where the former president listened to closing arguments in his criminal trial.
“He has no place in my city,” De Niro, a New York native, said of Trump at a news conference hosted by President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign outside Manhattan Supreme Court .
“We New Yorkers tolerated him when he was just a dirty real estate crook posing as a big shot. A mediocre playboy who worked his way into the tabloids, posing as a doorman. “spokesman, a spokesperson for himself,” De Niro said. .
The star of “Taxi Driver” and “The Godfather Part II” described Trump as a threat to the United States and said Trump fomented violence and destruction during the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 , by a crowd of Trump supporters. .
De Niro said he decided to lend his talents to a Biden-Harris campaign ad, “because it shows Trump’s violence.”
“But this is cowardly violence,” De Niro said. “Do you think Trump himself ever threw a punch, or received one? This guy, who ran and hid in the White House bunker while there were protesters at the ‘outside? No way.’
De Niro was joined at the event by former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, one of thousands of law enforcement officers who fought to protect the Capitol from pro-Trump crowd on January 6.
Immediately after Biden’s campaign event, Trump campaign spokesperson Jason Miller accused Biden of employing a “failed actor” to campaign for him in a Hail Mary attempt to reverse Trump’s narrow lead in 2024 election polls.
Miller spoke into the same microphone where De Niro spoke moments before.
A short distance away, a fight broke out between rival groups of pro-Trump protesters, prompting police to enter the designated protest space to respond.
The De Niro event marks the first time the Biden campaign has appeared outside of Trump’s trial, which began more than five weeks ago.
As the criminal trial draws to a close, the president’s re-election campaign plans to intensify its attacks on Trump, NBC News reported Friday.
The change comes ahead of the presidential debate scheduled for June 27 between Trump and Biden, the first of two planned debates. While the presidential race is still very close nationally, Trump’s lead in several state polls is increasingly worrying Biden’s Democratic allies.
Trump is accused of falsifying business records related to the repayment of a secret $130,000 payment his former lawyer Michael Cohen made to porn star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential election.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg says the documents were falsified in an attempt to conceal an illegal attempt to violate election laws.
Defense attorney Todd Blanche began Tuesday’s closing arguments by saying, “President Trump is innocent.”
“He committed no crime and the district attorney failed to meet his burden of proof,” Blanche said.
Blanche said he expects his closing arguments to last up to two and a half hours. He will be followed by Joshua Steinglass, Bragg’s prosecutor, who said his closing arguments could last more than four hours.
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