Robert De Niro speaks at Biden campaign rally outside Trump trial

As closing arguments in Donald Trump’s criminal trial took place inside a New York courthouse on Tuesday, May 28, a campaign rally for President Joe Biden was held outside, with actor Robert De Niro in attendance. De Niro, a longtime Democrat who recently voiced an ad for Biden’s campaign, spoke to reporters, criticizing Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee in the upcoming presidential election.

“If he gets in, I can tell you right now, he will never leave,” De Niro said.

“When Trump ran in 2016, it was like a joke,” De Niro added. “This buffoon running for president ‘no never could happen.’ We’ve forgotten the lessons of history that showed us other clowns who weren’t taken seriously until they became vicious dictators. With Trump, we have a second chance and no one is laughing now. He doesn’t belong in my city.”

De Niro was accompanied by two law enforcement officers, Harry Dunn and Michael Fanone, who were at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, saying the riot was fueled by lies that the 2020 election was stolen.

Pro-Trump supporters could be heard chanting in the background during the Biden event.

In response, the Trump campaign held a press conference soon after.

“Joe Biden is losing nationally,” Jason Miller, a Trump spokesperson, said. “President Trump’s numbers continue to rise. And the best that Biden can do is roll out a washed up actor.”

Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said the Biden camp was in “complete freakout mode” over Trump’s resilience despite the multiple criminal cases against him.