Standing only feet from the Manhattan courtroom where the former president was listening to closing arguments in his criminal trial, legendary actor Robert De Niro blasted Donald Trump and called him a "loser" and a "clown", as per a report in CNBC.
'The Intern' actor added, "He doesn't belong in my city." Mr De Niro said this during a press conference hosted by President Joe Biden's reelection campaign outside the court in New York. "We New Yorkers used to tolerate him when he was just another grubby real estate hustler masquerading as a big shot. A two-bit playboy lying his way into the tabloids, pretending to be a spokesman - a spokesperson for himself," he added.
The actor called President Trump a threat to the country and claimed that he incited violence and destruction on January 6, 2021, at the US Capitol. According to him, he chose to lend his skills to a Biden-Harris campaign commercial "because it shows the violence of Trump." He was joined by two former police officers who were at the Capitol riots.
The Oscar-winner then continued, "But it's a coward's violence. You think Trump ever threw a punch himself, or took one? This guy who ran and hid in the White House bunker when there were protesters outside? No way." The punchline alluded to 'Raging Bull', a 1980 film in which De Niro played Jake LaMotta, the boxer who was once world middleweight champion.
Speaking to Sky News, Mr De Niro said that Mr Trump should not be the President of the United States. "You know my view of Donald Trump, he's a monster. He should not be allowed... listen - he cannot be president of the United States again, never, ever."
"People know that, and many people know that and are afraid to say something, but people have to speak up now and say, and acknowledge to themselves that he's a monster, and they might be afraid, but they've got to speak up. This is the moment of truth for this country. Period," he continued.
