By You could tell it was going to be a fiasco simply by the press release. On Tuesday morning, a reporter for Semafor broke the news that the Biden campaign had announced it would be holding a press conference “with a special guest” outside of the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse on “Tuesday, May 27, 2024.”
Unfortunately, today is the 28th, and it all went downhill from there.
Featuring 80-year-old Robert De Niro, the president’s reelection held a press conference that saw car alarms, mockery, and such hyperbole that many who watched came away wondering who the Biden camp would be firing.
President Biden can no longer pretend that the prosecutions of Trump aren’t based on helping him win a second term by hook or by crook.
De Niro slammed former President Trump as a “danger” to Americans in comments during a press conference in New York City on Tuesday outside the Manhattan courtroom where the 45th president is facing trial, wrote Fox News.
“I hope this new ad campaign reaches outside the bubble to remind supporters of what a danger he is to our lives. This is not a threat. This is our reality. And that’s why I’ve joined the Biden-Harris campaign, because the only way to preserve our freedoms and hold on to our humanity is to vote for Joe Biden for president,” De Niro said of Trump on Tuesday during the Biden-Harris press conference in Manhattan. President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were not present during the event.
The actor was joined by the Biden campaign’s communications director, Michael Tyler, who called Trump a “chaos agent,” as well DC Metropolitan Police Department Officer Michael Fanone and former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, who was present in the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
“Trump poses a unique and growing threat to our fundamental rights and our freedoms, our very democracy and our economy. The threat is crystal clear today and will remain crystal clear tomorrow. And will be crystal clear on the debate stage in Atlanta on June 27th,” Tyler said, referring to the anticipated June 27th debate between Biden and Trump.
Robert De Niro speaks to the press outside Trump trial. pic.twitter.com/0gjqLLYk3p
— New York Post (@nypost) May 28, 2024
The Associated Press explained that “it was a sharp about-face for Biden’s team, which had largely ignored the trial since it began six weeks ago and is now looking to capitalize on its drama-filled closing moments, sending the “Goodfellas” actor and the first responders who were at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Biden’s campaign had been wary about feeding into Trump’s argument that his criminal trials were the result of politically motivated prosecutions, but ultimately it decided to engage because its message about the stakes of the election was struggling to break through the intense focus on the trial.
A top Biden adviser said they weren’t there to talk about the trial — and De Niro and the officers didn’t reference the sordid criminal case directly — rather to exploit the large media focus on the legal proceedings. But Trump advisers argued in a dueling press conference that the Biden team’s presence validated the Republican former president’s claims that his prosecutions are being driven by politics.
‘We’re not here today because of what’s going on over there,” Biden campaign communication director Michael Tyler told reporters, gesturing toward the courthouse. “We’re here today because you all are here.'”
No one bought it, though, including the crowd of New Yorkers who watched. After his rant, De Niro did not receive the welcome he expected from his fellow New Yorkers. He ended up cursing at the crowd and nearly getting into a fight.
JUST IN: Actor Robert De Niro gets into a shouting match with a guy wearing a MAGA hat across the street from the Trump trial.
De Niro could be seen having a meltdown after a Trump supporter was heard calling him “washed up.”
De Niro joined the Biden campaign on Tuesday to… pic.twitter.com/nR7wgTTLBh
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 28, 2024
The Biden campaign move was almost instantly lambasted as a huge mistake. David Marcus, who has been covering the Tump trial, said it could be the biggest blunder from a campaign in his entire career.
The De Niro presser is the stupidest political move I’ve ever seen. I honestly didn’t think it could be real when I saw @PhilipWegmann’s post on X about it. pic.twitter.com/sBaPPuJxPI
— David Marcus (@BlueBoxDave) May 28, 2024
Karl Rove, no fan of Trump, also chimed in, labeling De Niro’s odd rant a “big mistake.”
“Stupid mistake by the Biden campaign,” Rove said during his Tuesday appearance on Fox News, where he is a contributor. “They wanted to get, while all the cameras were there, they wanted to get their moment in the sun. And it was a big mistake.”
Rove continued by claiming that the actor’s strange appearance outside Trump’s trial would only exacerbate Democratic concerns about Joe Biden as their nominee for 2024.
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