Robert De Niro defends press conference outside Trump hush money trial, insists he 'had to do something'

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Hollywood legend Robert De Niro shared his reasons for holding a press conference on the street outside the Manhattan Criminal Court while former president Donald Trump was undergoing his criminal hush money trial with the hosts of the 'Today' on Tuesday, June 4, 2023.

De Niro had showed up outside the courthouse on Tuesday, May 28, along with the Biden campaign to drive the attention of the large gathering of press personnel to the upcoming presidential election.

Robert De Niro defends his press conference outside NY court

Host Craig Melvin broached the subject of Robert De Niro's press conference during the interview, asking the veteran actor, "Why did you feel that it was important for Robert De Niro to be outside that courtroom?"

"We're in a very bad situation," replied De Niro. He referred to former president Donald Trump as he said, "It's all about truth, and what we have here is a denial of truth all over the place."

Trump was reportedly convicted on 34 counts of felony for falsifying business records at the NY courtroom on Thursday, May 30.

"And even the speech that he made after is insane. It’s just insane, and I’m very, very concerned about it. I think we all are," continued De Niro.

"So that’s why I felt that I had to do something – say something about it, to go on record," he added.

Robert De Niro's remarks at the press conference

Robert De Niro reportedly told reporters outside the Manhattan courthouse last week, "I don’t mean to scare you. No, wait, maybe I do mean to scare you. If Trump returns to the White House, you can kiss these freedoms goodbye that we all take for granted.”

"We New Yorkers used to tolerate him when he was just another crappy real estate hustler masquerading as a big shot," he continued, before warning, "I love this city. I don’t want to destroy it. Donald Trump wants to destroy not only the city but the country, and, eventually, he could destroy the world.”

MAGA supporters troll Robert De Niro for defending his interview

"He had to do something because he was paid to be there by the Biden administration," wrote a Donald Trump supporter while responding to the actor's statements on X (formerly Twitter).

"Well bobby you did do something. Pushed more people right into camp trump. so thanks!" another said.

"De Niro's fame is long past its expiration date," one MAGA supporter said.

"I guess embarrassing yourself is doing something," another added.

"You don’t always need to do something. Self control helps," one person wrote.

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