Robert De Niro Speaks Outside of Trump Trial

Morning everybody. Good to go?

Yep.

All right. Thank you so much for being here. First of all, let me say this first and foremost, we're not here today because of what's going on over there. We're here today because you all are here, and so we are glad that you are all here this morning. We're here primarily because of the threat that Donald Trump poses to the United States of America and to our democracy. We are of course, grateful to have two brave officers, Michael Fanone and Harry Dunn, who defended our democracy and our Capitol against the violent mob that Trump incited on January 6th, 2021 here with us. And of course, we are happy to have Robert De Niro a native New Yorker who can spot BS a mile away and isn't afraid to call it out. (00:47) So the contrast here pretty much writes itself. As we speak, Donald Trump's somewhere fighting for himself, maybe taking a power nap. And we've seen him for weeks and for months now, we've seen the ramblings of an unhinged power hungry, self-centered man both here at Mar-a-Lago on Truth Social, wherever he may be. But the thing is, this isn't new for Donald Trump. It's how he spent his four years in the White House. It's how he spent every moment since he lost the 2020 election. And in one month, Americans are going to have an opportunity to witness in prime time the clear contrast between Donald Trump, who's a chaos agent, waging a self-obsessed campaign, a revenge and retribution, go up against Joe Biden, who's a leader who fights for Americans every single day. (01:33) As the president said when he challenged Trump to debate, president has a list of things he'd like to talk to Trump about, if Trump does in fact show up in Atlanta on June 27th. He wants to talk about why Donald Trump's the architect of the repeal of Roe V. Wade. Why he wants to go even further in his second term, why he thinks the extreme state level abortion bans are playing out brilliantly across the country. He wants to talk about Trump's embrace of political violence and the core threat he poses to our democracy. Lastly, he wants to talk about Trump's economic plans, and how they'd make Trump and his rich friends richer at the expense of working families just like he has his entire life. So that's what this campaign is going to be focused on and talking about over the course of the next month. (02:17) We're going to make sure that Trump has the answer for all of the above and for his extremism on the debate stage. That started last week when we launched our new ad narrated by Mr. De Niro, which underscores Trump's increasingly unhinged and dangerous quest for power, and we're not going to let our foot off the gas. You'll be hearing and seeing a lot from our campaign as we bring the stakes of the election directly to the voters who are going to decide it. It's simple. Trump poses a unique and growing threat to our fundamental rights and our freedoms, our very democracy, and our economy. (02:48) The threat is crystal clear today. It'll remain crystal clear tomorrow and it will be crystal clear on the debate stage in Atlanta on June 27th. So now I'm going to pause and turn it over to Robert De Niro.

Thank you. Even these people over here are kind of... It's kind of crazy. It's really crazy. And this thing, Donald Trump has created this. He should be telling them not to do this. But he wants to sow total chaos, which he's succeeding in some areas and places to do. Anyway, beside all that, this is my neighborhood, downtown New York City. I grew up here and feel at home in these streets. I feel comfortable. 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. And we started the Tribeca Festival to bring people back. (04:09) I love this city. 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 could destroy the world. But we vowed we would not allow terrorists... I owe this city a lot, and that's why it's so weird that Donald Trump is just across the street because he doesn't belong in my city. I don't know where he belongs, but he certainly doesn't belong here. 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. (05:05) He was calling it as himself for himself to fool the press into inflating his net worth. A clown. But this city is pretty accommodating, we make room for clowns. We have them all over the city, people who do crazy things in the street. We tolerate it. It's part of the city, it's part of the culture, but not a person like Trump who will eventually run the country. That does not work, and we all know that. Anyway, we make room for clowns, to each his own, but no one takes him or took him really seriously. They take him seriously now, of course. But around the country, people who didn't know him as we did, started to support him. They bought into his bullshit. (06:05) Trump bought their votes with outrageous lies and empty promises. He got the most religious evangelicals to applaud a sinner who bragged about sexual assault. And just a couple of blocks from here, a jury found him liable for sexual abuse. Somehow he even got self-styled patriots to support a man who called for terminating the constitution. And on January 6th, rallied an angry mob to threaten democracy, leaving death and destruction in its wake. That's why I needed to be involved and wanted to be involved in the new Biden-Harris ad because it shows the violence of Trump and reminds us that he'll use violence against anyone who stands in the way of his megalomania and greed. But it's a coward's violence. (07:07) 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. He doesn't get blood on his hands. No, he doesn't. He directs the mob to do his dirty work for him by making a suggestion, an inference, and his gang grovels and follows his obvious order. It's no surprise that the murder rate and other violent crimes peaked under Trump and are falling under Biden, and now he's promising to use our own military to attack US citizens. That's the tyrant. That's the tyrant he's telling us he'll be, and believe me, he means it. When Trump ran in 2016, it was like a joke. This buffoon running for president. No, never could happen. (08:11) We'd 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. This is the time to stop him by voting him out once and for all. We don't want to wake up after the election saying, "What again? My God, what the hell have we done?" We can't have that happen again. Yesterday was Memorial Day. It's a good time to reflect on how Americans fought and died, so that we may enjoy the freedoms guaranteed to us by a democratic government, a government that as President Lincoln said, "Of the people by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth." Under Trump, this kind of government will perish from the earth. (09:11) I don't mean to scare you. No, no, wait, maybe I do mean to scare you. 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. He will never leave. You know that. He will never leave. What does that mean? Is that the country we want to live in? Do we want him running this country and saying, "I'm not leaving. I'm dictator for life." 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 a reality. (10:09) 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. Really? We don't have a choice. On January 6th, while Republican lawmakers despicably tried to keep the loser, Trump, the loser, Trump in the White House and Trump inspired insurrectionists stormed the Capitol, brave men and women from law enforcement put their lives on the line to defend this country, our democracy. They are the true heroes. These guys are the true heroes. They stood and put their lives on the line for these low lives, for Trump.

They lied under oath.

They lied under oath.

That's right.

Who lied under oath? What are you telling me?

Those two traitors behind you.

Excuse me?

Those two traitors behind you.

They lied under oath?

That's right.

What are you saying?

They're traitors.

They're traitors? I don't know. I don't even know how to deal with you, my friend. I don't even know how to deal with you. They stood there, they didn't have to. And there were other ones in there who probably were in with them a little bit too, and they found a way to get around. Not these guys. They stood there and fought for us, for you. For you.

They weren't fighting for me.

No. No. They fought for you, buddy. You're able to stand right here now. They are the true heroes. I'm honored to be with these two heroes today, former Capitol Police Officer, Harry Dunn and former Metropolitan Police Officer, Michael Fanone.

I came here today to remind Americans of what Donald Trump is capable of and the violence that he unleashed on all Americans on January 6th, 2021. For two decades, I was a DC police officer serving the citizens of the district of Columbia, primarily working in narcotics. On January 6th, 2021, I heard distress calls coming from fellow police officers on the Capitol as thousands of Trump supporters rushed them and brutally assaulted members of law enforcement. That day, I like many other, hundreds of other DC police officers put on a uniform and responded to the Capitol to assist our brothers and sisters in law enforcement, defending the Capitol from a violent armed mob of Trump's supporters. (13:24) These supporters were fueled by Trump's lies and the lies of his surrogates, lies that the 2020 election was stolen. Those same lies had been spewed by Donald Trump and his surrogates about what happened to me and so many other police officers on January 6th, 2021. That day, I was brutally assaulted. I was pulled from the police line by a man named Albuquerque Head, a Trump supporter who later pled guilty to his violent assault on me. While being restrained by the violent mob, I was beaten. An individual named Kyle Young tried to strip me of my firearm while chants of, "kill him with his own gun," were echoed by other members of the crowd. (14:25) At that time, Thomas Civic, a man from Buffalo New York, stripped me of my badge and my police radio, my lifeline to call for help from other officers. All the while I continued to be beaten, and then struck with a taser on my neck by Daniel Rodriguez, another Trump supporter, who also pled guilty to his violent assault on me. All four of these individuals are self-admitted Trump supporters. All four of them committed violent assault on law enforcement. I'm just one representative of the hundreds of police officers that were assaulted that day by Donald Trump's supporters inspired by his lies, the lies that continue to this day to inspire my fellow Americans to turn against their fellow Americans, to turn against police officers. (15:36) At the end of the day, this election is about Donald Trump and his vision for the office of the President of the United States, not as a public servant who answers to the people who elected him, but as an authoritarian who answers to and serves only himself. Thank you.

Ashley Babbitt was murdered, an unarmed veteran.

Morning. If January 6th didn't happen, we wouldn't be here right now. I'd still be at work working at the United States Capitol. I appreciate the words by Mr. De Niro, Officer Fanone. But anytime I get an opportunity to acknowledge, address and thank the men and women of the Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department who served that day to protect our democracy, to protect each other, to make sure everybody got to go home that night, that's what we fought for that day. The fight for a lot of us didn't end on January 6th, that evening when we went home, the fight still continues now. What happened that day was an attempt to halt, to overthrow an election. (17:06) Donald Trump is the greatest threat to our democracy and the safety of communities across the country today. He has encouraged and continued to encourage political violence. We've been called traitors just today. We were all called traitors on January 6th for doing our job. And yes, we protected Republicans. We protected Democrats alike. It's not about the story that we don't agree with. Political violence is never acceptable. But you have a presidential candidate that champions it, that encourages it, that supports it. We cannot have that. Officer Sicknick, he died the day after January 6th. They said it was because of a stroke, but the events of January 6th caused it. His father said it best, Charles Signet, "Trump is the reason why my son is dead. Trump does whatever will get him votes and helps Donald Trump. He's about himself." (18:09) "He calls the criminals who attacked our capital, patriots. He calls the men and women who died serving and protecting this country, suckers and losers. He constantly echoes the words of dictators and invokes the language of Nazi, Germany, embracing political violence, pledging to rule as a dictator on day one. Those aren't our talking points. Those aren't left news talking points, he said it. Americans need to wake up. This is not a drill. Mr. De Niro said he's not trying to scare you. I just unsuccessfully ran for office. A lot of people that I met out there said they were afraid. They're scared to see what another Trump presidency looks like. I try to pride myself in having some type of way to make people feel comfortable saying some kind of a word, a hug, a look or something, "It's going to be okay." (19:15) I couldn't say that to those individuals. I couldn't say, "It's going to be okay. Everything's going to be all right." We can't count on these institutions to stop Donald Trump. It's going to take us Americans at the ballot box to defeat him once and for all. Thank you so much you all.

Okay, we have time for a few questions, if folks [inaudible 00:19:37].

Why did the Biden campaign decide to come here today?

Because you all are here. We've been incessantly covering this day in and day out, and we want to remind the American people ahead of the next debate or the first debate on June 27th of the unique, persistent and growing threat that Donald Trump poses to the American people and to our democracy. So since you all are here, we are here communicating that message as we will do day in, day out until the debate in Atlanta.

Can the two officers, the two police officers please spell your name? [inaudible 00:20:06].

Harry, H-A-R-R-Y. Dunn, D-U-N-N.

Okay. And you, sir?

Michael, M-I-C-H-A-E-L. Fanone, F-A-N-O-N-E.

Thank you very much. (20:22) What's your response to Republicans who say you're running on January 6th because you can't run on Biden's record?

I'd say that's absolutely absurd because we are running on a historic record of accomplish everything from 15 million new jobs created under this administration, 800,000 manufacturing jobs. The work that the president has done to lower costs for Americans, capping the cost of insulin at $35, making the single largest investment to combat climate change in our nation's history, the first bipartisan gun safety legislation in a generation. (20:50) The list goes on and on and on of the historic record of accomplishment and the vision for the future. The fact remains that the looming threat of mega-extremism has only grown stronger since January 6th. And so, yeah, we're going to campaign on the president's record, on his vision, and we're going to run against the extremism embodied by Donald Trump as he sits in that building or anywhere else across the country.

Michael, do you really believe that an undecided voter in Michigan and Wisconsin is paying attention to this trial [inaudible 00:21:17]?

Well, they're certainly going to pay attention to the stakes of this election as we continue to communicate it day in and day out. That's what we're doing here today. That's what we're going to do every single day through the debate in Atlanta. That's what we'll do ahead of the debate in September, 10th. And that's what we'll do from now until election day, making sure that voters and states across the country understand the clear choice that they have between a fighter and Joe Biden, who wakes up every single day fighting for them, for their families and their communities. (21:41) And Donald Trump who's fighting for himself, whether he's here in New York, down in Mar-a-Lago, on Truth Social. When he does venture out onto the campaign stump, he's fighting for one person, that's Donald Trump. So we want to make sure that the American people understand that choice.

Do you expect President Biden at some point to address the trial? (21:56) Organized by the Biden campaign, I just want to know why you decided to do this conference here outside the courtroom. Why are you having a political conference outside of a criminal trial [inaudible 00:22:06] the president [inaudible 00:22:08]?

Again, you all are already here. It's easy to talk about the choice in this election when the entire news media is camped out here day in and day out. So we are talking about the choice that voters are going to have in this election and the threat embodied by the man who is in that building right now. But it is a threat no matter where he is, a threat to our fundamental freedoms, a threat to our democracy, a threat to our very way of life. (22:29) And so, this campaign's going to communicate that here in New York. We're going to commute it across all the battleground states day in and day out until voters are able to cast their ballots.

Would you consider Trump a threat to all these wars Biden has gotten us into?

Any media questions?

Is this a weaponization of the Justice Department, sir?

Any media questions?

You won't answer the real questions, only the fake names? (22:48) [inaudible 00:22:49] down here the rest of the week?

Stay tuned.

Is there a defense that the president [inaudible 00:22:57] voters, especially aggressive young voters, given what's going on in Gaza. He set a red line for Rafah. Israelis went in and had another massacre.

Yeah, I'd say one thing. I'd say that the president in his campaign are making clear that the president approaches complex conflicts like this. Not as a politician, but as the commander-in-chief, making sure that his North star is American security, global security. Making sure that yes, Israel has a right to defend itself, but that we are not ... that any civilian casualty is one too many. He's been very clear about that. And he makes decisions like this with national security in mind. I do think that it stands in stark contrast of the person who sits in that building, who makes every single decision based upon what's in the best interest of one individual, and that's himself. (23:44) And so, we're going to communicate that choice day in and day out until the election. We're also going to communicate the entirety of what voters are going to be taking to the ballot box. You mentioned young voters, making sure they understand that again, they have a president who's been fighting to address the existential threat that is climate change, making the single largest investment in climate change in our nation's history. Making sure that they understand that they have a President, Joe Biden, who's been fighting relentlessly to make sure that we can live in communities free from gun violence, passing the first bipartisan gun safety legislation in a generation. (24:14) We're going to make sure that they bring all of this information to the ballot box and they understand the clear choice between Joe Biden, who thinks about them, their safety, their interests, day in and day out, versus Donald Trump who's thinking about himself, no matter what the issue is. All right you all, thank you so much.