Republican strategist Karl Rove criticized President Biden’s campaign for what he termed a “big mistake” on Tuesday, accusing Biden’t handlers of politicizing former President Trump’s hush money trial by featuring actor Robert De Niro and two Jan. 6 police officers at a courthouse press event.
“Stupid mistake by the Biden campaign,” Rove remarked during his appearance on Fox News.
“They wanted to get, while all the cameras were there, they wanted to get their moment in the sun. And it was a big mistake.”
During his speech, which was not well received by audience members, De Niro warned about the danger Trump allegedly poses if he wins in November.
Robert De Niro at the Biden campaign press conference invokes 9/11 while criticizing Trump: The Twin Towers fell over here…We vowed we would not allow terrorists to change our way of life…Donald Trump wants to destroy not only this city, but the country, and eventually he… pic.twitter.com/AOHV2DdwaU
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) May 28, 2024
“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,” he began nonsensically.
“I love this city. I don’t want to destroy it,” De Niro declared. “Donald Trump wants to destroy not only the city but the country, and eventually he can destroy the world.”
That’s when he reiterated his favorite line implying that Trump was a dictator who would “never leave” the Oval Office if re-elected.
“I don’t mean to scare you. No, no, wait — maybe I do mean to scare you,” De Niro continued. “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.”
Rove, previously a top adviser to former President George W. Bush, questioned the effectiveness of the event, suggesting it might not attract new voters.
While De Niro was praising Michael Fanone and Harry Dunn, someone off camera says they lied under oath about what they did on J6.
“Who lied under oath?”
“Those two traitors behind you.”
“What are you saying?”
“They’re traitors.”
“They’re traitors?…They stood… pic.twitter.com/Bh2QAYBCQp
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) May 28, 2024
“It politicized the trial — better to have waited,” Rove rebuked, contending that undecided voters in the upcoming election are unlikely to be swayed by De Niro’s outlandish warnings.
“Are those the kind of credible statements that are going to cause people who don’t like Biden and don’t like Trump, but are trying to figure out who to vote for,” Rove wondered.
“The people who believe that are already in the Biden camp,” he added. “That’s not who they should be trying to reach.”
He noted that discussing January 6 and highlighting the two officers who stood behind him could have had an impact, but this approach was so exaggerated it became “simply useless.”
De Niro did eventually reference the two Capitol Police officers, U.S. Capitol Police Officers Harry Dunn and Michael Fanone, during his anti-Trump tirade.
“On January 6, while Republican lawmakers despicably tried to keep 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,” De Niro said about the Capitol Police.
But the crowd soured when he referenced Dunn and Fanone. “These guys are the true heroes,” he noted. “They stood and put their lives on the line for these low lives, for Trump.”
“They lied under oath,” a crowd member shot back and De Niro couldn’t believe his ears. “They lied under oath? Who lied under oath? What are you telling me?” he asked.
The person in the crowd replied that the “two traitors” behind him did. “Excuse me?” the “Raging Bull” star shot back. “They lied under oath? What are you saying?”
After a brief back and forth with the person, De Niro stopped engaging and defended the Capitol Police officers.
“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,” he exclaimed. “They stood there and fought for us, for you. For you!”
After the news conference, De Niro was heckled by pro-Trump protesters on his way back to his car, who called him a “wannabe” and a “paid sell-out,” amongst other insults.
“You’re not going to intimidate,” De Niro fired back. “That’s what Trump does. … We are going to fight back. We’re trying to be gentlemen in this world, the Democrats. You are gangsters. You are gangsters!”
Giving ZERO fucks, badass Robert DeNiro walking into a den of MAGA-fascist wimps like Travis Bickel: “You talkin’ to me?”pic.twitter.com/LQ4ueoC8Cx
— Bill Madden (@maddenifico) May 28, 2024
“You’re washed up,” a protester retorted. “F— you,” De Niro responded.
The Trump campaign also held a press conference mocking the Biden campaign for turinng to the “Meet The Fockers” star.
“Elitist out-of-touch Hollywood actors like Robert De Niro who have no idea the real problems that people in this city and across this country are facing,” spokesperson Karoline Leavitt criticized.
“The best that Biden can do is roll out a washed-up actor,” Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller added.
The internet agreed with the Trump campaigns assessment. “Robert De Niro just had a full blown meltdown outside of the courthouse in NYC where the Trump trial is being held,” conservative commentator Benny Johnson tweeted.
“The Biden team is so desperate with this De Niro stunt,” Town Hall columnist Gavin Wax wrote. “He is way out of his depth. It looks like he is reading a hostage note. So out of touch. He is destroying his acting legacy with his lame hippie boomer-style politicking. Go home Rob!”
“What’s funny is De Niro starred in “Dirty Grandpa” and that’s exactly what Joe Biden is,” someone else trolled.
Trump responded to the actor’s remarks in a Tuesday night Truth Social post.
“I never knew how small, both mentally and physically, Wacko Former Actor Robert De Niro was. Today, De Niro, who suffers from an incurable case of TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, commonly known in the medical community as TDS, was met, outside the Courthouse, with a force far greater than the Radical Left – MAGA,” Trump wrote.
“Robert, whose movies, artistry, and brand have gone WAY DOWN IN VALUE since he entered the political arena at the request of Crooked Joe Biden, looked so pathetic and sad out there. Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio!!!”
This is the second time the Biden campaign has trotted out De Niro within a week. On Friday they dropped an ad the actor narrated, which will air on television and digital platforms in battleground states.
“Then he lost the 2020 election – and snapped. Desperately trying to hold onto power. Now he’s running again,” De Niro claimed in the ad.
“This time threatening to be a dictator. To terminate the Constitution,” he continued. “Trump want’s revenge, and he’ll stop at nothing to get it.”