Oscar winner Robert De Niro on Tuesday delivered a pro-Biden speech outside the courthouse where former President Donald Trump is facing trial. A crowd of MAGA protesters looked on before shouting at the star that Capitol police officers ”lied under oath” about the Jan. 6 insurrection.
De Niro did not take too kindly to the interruptions.
With the Trump hush-money trial heading into closing arguments, De Niro held the press conference surrounded by several law enforcement officers, including Michael Fanone and Harry Dunn, who were attacked by Jan. 6 rioters at the Capitol.
Throughout his address, the Goodfellas star repeatedly referenced the violence of the insurrection. “Somehow he even got self-styled patriots to support a man who called for terminating the Constitution and on Jan. 6, rallied an angry mob to threaten democracy leaving death and destruction in its wake,” he declared. “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 the use of violence to anyone who stands in the way of his greed.”
While pro-Trump demonstrators heckled De Niro several times during his speech, he didn’t engage with them until he was interrupted while lauding the Capitol police officers as “true heroes.”
With a car alarm blaring in the background, the famed actor grew incensed when one man said “they lied under oath” after De Niro pointed to Dunn and Fanone and praised their bravery.
“Oh, they lied under oath? What are you telling me?” De Niro shot back, prompting the man to say “those two traitors behind you,” referencing the two officers present.
“They’re traitors?!” De Niro incredulously replied. “I don’t even know how to deal with you, my friend. I don’t even know how to deal with you!”
Continuing to address his heckler, De Niro waved toward the two cops and said “they stood there” on Jan. 6 when “they didn’t have to,” adding that they showed more courage than other officers at the scene.
“There were other ones in there who probably were with them a little bit and found a way to get around. Not these guys,” the actor shouted. “They stood there and fought for us, for you. For you!”
The MAGA protester, meanwhile, insisted the cops “weren’t fighting for me.”
“No? They fought for you, buddy! You’re able to stand there right here now,” De Niro added before pivoting back to his prepared remarks.
A longtime vocal critic of the ex-president, De Niro recently narrated a re-election campaign ad for President Joe Biden that seeks to remind the public of the chaos of Trump’s presidency and that a second time around would be even worse.
This post was originally published on Daily Beast
