The actor was almost literally Daniel in the lions' den Tuesday morning in downtown Manhattan, where De Niro came face-to-face with an angry MAGA mob -- they shouted "F*** you," and called him a traitor ... to America and Italians and Jewish people. Other obscenities made mention of Robert's mother.
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PeopleTranscript
00:00So today's a big day. Closing arguments in the Donald Trump trial. They call it the hush money trial. It's not a hush money trial.
00:07It is involving documents, but not sexy enough.
00:11Right. Hush money trial. It's a nice...
00:13It's a sexier thing.
00:14Right.
00:15So, there were a couple of guests today. Not inside the courtroom, but outside. Summoned by none other than President Biden.
00:22Right. And that would be one Robert De Niro is the biggest name.
00:25There are also two former Capitol Police officers who were sent there by the Biden administration basically to speak out about what they see as the threat to the country that Donald Trump poses.
00:37It did not go smoothly when De Niro arrived because you can imagine all the Donald Trump supporters who are outside of the court.
00:45As soon as they saw De Niro, it was like...
00:48Well, we should say, De Niro has been one of the most vocal...
00:52And he's actually voiced... He did voiceover for some of the new Biden campaigns.
00:56Campaign ads.
00:57Right. So, throwing him out there in front of that crowd was like, you know, chumming the water.
01:03Listen to the reaction that he got as he arrived.
01:06Little room, guys.
01:15You touch kids!
01:17You touch kids!
01:23Your mother should have...
01:26We're trying to be gentlemen in this world, the Democrats.
01:30You are gangsters! You are gangsters!
01:35By the way, he walks about a block away and then stops to address the media.
01:40And he... You can still, by the way, hear all the heckling going on in the background.
01:45You hear the heckling, but he was delivering the Biden message.
01:49Mr. De Niro, do you think you're going to break through with everyday voters?
01:52I hope I will. I hope I will. That's all.
01:55I hope I make a difference to anybody.
01:59It's just... I'm so angry. This is not where I want to be standing right now.
02:02This is not what I should be doing.
02:04But I am so angry that this person, and let alone a New Yorker, came and hustled the world.
02:10And hustled this country.
02:12Hustled the country.
02:14And they believe him.
02:16It's too many years of The Apprentice or whatever.
02:21But it's terrifying.
02:24I understand Robert De Niro a little bit better now.
02:27Because I want to... I think I said something really stupid a few weeks ago.
02:31When Robert De Niro was on The View, and he went on this just incredible...
02:36Maybe the most impassioned rant I've heard him have about Donald Trump.
02:41And he said a lot of these, right?
02:43And I just remember that day I was thinking, God, why is it so personal to him?
02:47Why is it so personal?
02:49And he explained that outside the courthouse today.
02:52It's personal to him because he truly feels...
02:55And this was very clear to me in how he was speaking today.
02:58He really feels like this is a horrible decision for this country.
03:03And whether you agree or disagree with him on that, the fact that he is so impassioned about it.
03:07And he said, as he said, I don't need to be here.
03:10I want to be anywhere else in the world.
03:12But I'm here because I think it's important for me and anybody else who feels like me to speak up about this.
03:19Because if you don't, it's going to be too late when election day comes.
03:22And I hear you on that.
03:24I've been thinking a lot about this over the last couple of weeks.
03:27And especially over the weekend.
03:29And I think Biden's got a problem with these messages.
03:32I think he's got a big problem with it.
03:34Because the way it's being delivered is...
03:38And I know I'm taking liberties here.
03:41He is essentially saying this.
03:43Listen, you idiots.
03:45You don't understand what's going on.
03:47You are blind.
03:48You're being played.
03:50People don't like hearing that.
03:53And again, I'm not personally...
03:56I'm not supporting Trump at all.
03:58But what I'm saying is...
03:59Hold on. Let me make my point.
04:01My point is that there are all sorts of reasons why different people are supporting Trump.
04:06Some people are racist.
04:08Some people are xenophobic.
04:10Some people are really concerned about the economy and think Biden's done a terrible job and Trump did a better job.
04:15Some people are really concerned about specific things like gas prices.
04:19There are all sorts of reasons.
04:21And it was Hillary Clinton's huge mistake calling them a basket of deplorables that probably cost her the election.
04:29And I feel like that's happening a second time.
04:33I think it was understood, Harvey.
04:36And that's been, I think, the biggest mistake that people on the left have made.
04:39They have constantly denigrated the Trump supporters.
04:42And they have failed to realize...
04:45I mean, this guy stands...
04:48I mean, he really speaks for a lot of the country.
04:50But put that aside for a second.
04:52The criticism of the Biden campaign has been that...
04:55One, that he is prosecuting his biggest political rival.
04:59So what do they do?
05:01They send somebody, a campaign spokesperson, to speak outside of the courthouse.
05:05That's stupid.
05:06It makes it look like Biden, again, is trying to take Trump out.
05:09The other criticism has been that Biden, at 81 years old, that he's too old.
05:14That he's not all the way there.
05:16So they send another 80-year-old guy out there to stand and scream and ramble on the street.
05:20It's an awful message.
05:22You think these people would know what to do.
05:24But they make the wrong mistake.
05:26They make bad moves at every single turn.
05:29And I don't get it.
05:30This was so stupid, I think, on so many different levels.
05:32So I think to respond specifically to what you said, and a little bit to what you said, Mike.
05:37I don't...
05:38They're not trying to...
05:39De Niro's not out there trying to convince Trump supporters to switch.
05:44He's out there getting the message out.
05:46Because this all comes down to who's going to mobilize...
05:49I know, but that message is out.
05:50Who's going to mobilize people more?
05:52So he wants Biden supporters to understand how much is at risk here.
05:57And that you better go out and vote.
05:59He's not trying to turn...
06:01He's not speaking to the Trump people.
06:03But he is.
06:04See, that's what I'm saying.
06:05He is motivating the Trump supporters to go out and vote.
06:09I see your point.
06:10That he's motivating...
06:11Yeah, yeah, yeah.
06:12So that he's actually motivating Trump people as much as Biden people.
06:16Exactly.
06:17Well, that's a fair point.
06:18My name is Pablo Prince from Los Angeles.
06:20And with all due respect to these gentlemen, I am a young, aspiring elder myself.
06:28Aspiring elder?
06:30Yeah.
06:31I'm going to use that.
06:32It's giving old fellas.
06:33It's giving the grand godfather.
06:36You know what I mean?
06:37I agree with what you said, Harvey, that it might just be firing up the Trump base even more.
06:42It's like, again, get this guy.
06:44He's talking, you're all gangsters.
06:45You're all gangsters.
06:46I played a gangster, but you're gangsters.
06:47It's very simple.
06:49That was a little weird coming from De Niro.
06:51I know.
06:52You're a gangster.
06:53You're a gangster.
06:57I'm a gangster.
06:58I'm a gangster.
06:59I'm a gangster.
07:00I'm a gangster.
07:01I'm a gangster.
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07:05I'm a gangster.
07:06I'm a gangster.
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07:10I'm a gangster.
07:11I'm a gangster.
07:12I'm a gangster.
07:13I'm a gangster.
07:14I'm a gangster.
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07:18I'm a gangster.
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07:23I'm a gangster.
07:24I'm a gangster.
07:25I'm a gangster.