On Tuesday, President Joe Biden’s campaign showed up outside former President Donald Trump’s New York City trial with actor Robert De Niro and two former police officers.
They aimed to shift focus to Trump’s role in the January 6, 2021, Capitol incident. This was a big change for Biden’s team, which had mostly ignored the trial for six weeks.
Now, they’re trying to use the trial’s final moments to their advantage, sending De Niro and the officers who were at the Capitol on January 6.
Biden’s campaign had avoided giving attention to Trump’s argument that his trials were politically motivated. But with their message struggling to get noticed, they decided to jump in. A top Biden adviser claimed they weren’t there to talk about the trial directly, but rather to use the media attention on the legal proceedings.
Trump’s advisers, however, argued that Biden’s campaign presence proved Trump’s point that the prosecutions were politically driven. Biden’s communication director, Michael Tyler, told reporters, “We’re not here today because of what’s going on over there,” pointing to the courthouse. “We’re here today because you all are here.”
The dueling press conferences added drama outside the courthouse, where closing arguments were taking place in the only Trump trial likely to end before the November election. There are two other cases against Trump related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and a case about classified documents he allegedly kept. Trump has pleaded not guilty in these cases.
Biden’s campaign released a new ad last week, narrated by De Niro, criticizing Trump’s presidency and plans if he’s re-elected. On Tuesday, De Niro joined the campaign, claiming it was the only way to “preserve our freedoms.” He warned, “If Trump returns to the White House, you can kiss these freedoms goodbye that we all take for granted.”
De Niro, posing as a true New Yorker, mocked Trump’s business failures and self-promotion, saying Trump wanted to “destroy” the city. “We New Yorkers used to tolerate him when he was just another crappy real estate hustler masquerading as a big shot,” De Niro said. “Donald Trump wants to destroy not only the city but the country, and eventually, he could destroy the world.”
Former Washington, D.C., police officer Michael Fanone and former Capitol police officer Harry Dunn spoke about their experiences on January 6. Fanone described his injuries from the mob of Trump supporters trying to stop Congress from certifying Biden’s 2020 victory. “I came here today to remind Americans of what Donald Trump is capable of,” Fanone said. Dunn added, “Americans need to wake up. This is not a drill.”
Trump’s campaign held their own news conference outside the courthouse. Trump’s senior adviser, Jason Miller, called De Niro “a washed-up actor” and said Biden’s event proved Trump’s claim that the trial was politically motivated. Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s campaign press secretary, called Biden’s campaign “desperate and failing,” adding that their event was “a full-blown concession that this trial is a witch hunt that comes from the top.”
Despite Trump and his aides denouncing the trial as politically driven, Trump has used the proceedings as a campaign tool, raising funds and criticizing Biden in front of cameras outside the courtroom.