Robert De Niro didn’t hold back when asked Thursday about Donald Trump’s guilty verdict in the Stormy Daniels case.
“I think justice has been done,” he said on the red carpet for his new film “Ezra.” “It’s only part of the big picture, so I want to be very careful.” Although he was initially reluctant to elaborate on his thoughts, he later continued to open up about condemning Trump.
“I think it would,” he said when asked if he thought it could affect the presidential election.
“This should never have gotten to this point,” he continued, “I don’t want to talk about it, but it upsets me so much. I have to say something. This is my country. This guy wants it destroy Period.
When asked if he feared for his safety, De Niro admitted that he did. “Think about it. This makes me even angrier, but I must be afraid of being bullied. And that’s why I said, you’re not going to intimidate us.
“People are fed up, they will fight back. That’s not what we do in this country,” De Niro said.
De Niro was in New York to promote his new film “Ezra” just hours after a city jury found the former president guilty on all 34 counts. Trump was accused of conspiring to cover up a sexual relationship with Daniels in 2006 by paying her $130,000 and then falsifying records to claim it as legal fees. He faced a total of 34 criminal charges related to false invoices, checks and ledger entries. He faces up to four years in prison, but probation is also possible, as is an appeal. Trump has now become the first former president convicted of a crime.
De Niro has had a long-running feud with Trump, dating back to before the 2016 presidential election. The actor has used award speeches and political videos to take jabs at Trump, such as in 2016 when he said he’d like to “punch him in the face” on Megyn Kelly’s talk show.
At the 2018 Tony Awards, De Niro said “fuck Trump” on stage; In response, Trump lashed out on Twitter (now Trump added: “I watched him last night and I honestly believe he may be ‘drunk.’
Most recently, De Niro spoke at a Democratic press conference outside Trump’s courthouse, saying the former president should go to prison.
“The fact is he’s acquitted, he’s without a jury, whatever it is, he’s guilty, and we all know it,” De Niro said. “I’ve never seen a guy get away with so much and we all know that. Everybody knows it.