Actor Robert De Niro on Thursday spoke out about former President Trump’s conviction in a high-profile hush-money case.
“I think justice has been served,” the two-time Academy Award winner told reporters on the red carpet in New York for his new film “Ezra,” Variety reported.
“This is only one small part of the picture, so we want to pay close attention.”
In New York v. Trump, Trump was convicted of all 34 first-degree counts of falsifying business records.
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Robert De Niro attends the New York premiere of “Ezra” at the DGA Theatre on May 30, 2024 in New York City. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
Variety reported that De Niro said he believes the results will have an impact on the presidential election, but did not say how.
“I think so,” De Niro said.
“It should never have gotten to this point,” he continued. “I don’t want to talk about it, but I’m very angry. I have to say it. This is my country. This guy is trying to destroy it. That’s it. He’s crazy.”
De Niro and Trump have been at odds for years, with De Niro holding a chaotic press conference outside a Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday, claiming that Trump wants to “destroy” New York City and the country, and could ultimately destroy the whole world. Trump fired back on Truth Social, calling De Niro “pathetic” and a “kook.”
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Former President Trump (left) and Robert De Niro have had a long-standing feud. (Julia Nickinson Pool/Getty Images | Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
De Niro has previously slammed Trump in various speeches and videos, and ahead of the 2016 presidential election, he said he wanted to punch Trump in the face.
On the red carpet on Thursday, De Niro was also asked if he ever feared for his safety.
“Think about it. It makes me even angrier, but I have to be afraid of being threatened. So I said, ‘You’re not going to threaten us,'” De Niro told Variety.
“The public is fed up and we’re going to fight back. That’s not how we think about this country.”
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of first-degree falsifying business records and has called the case a political assassination emanating from the White House. The charges stem from a years-long investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
The charges relate to alleged payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels to silence her over an alleged affair she had with Trump in 2006 before the 2016 presidential election, which Trump denies.
Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen paid Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, $130,000 in hush money ahead of the 2016 presidential election to keep quiet about her alleged affair with Trump in 2006.
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Former President Trump arrived at Trump Tower on Thursday, May 30, 2024, after being convicted of 34 counts of first-degree falsifying business records. (Felipe Ramares for Fox News Digital)
The payments to Daniels were first revealed in a Wall Street Journal report in January 2018, which said Cohen and Daniels’ lawyers had signed a non-disclosure agreement to prevent Daniels from speaking publicly about her sexual relationship with Trump.
But at the time, Cohen, Trump and even Daniels denied the arrangement.
“Ezra” is a comedy-drama in which De Niro plays a stand-up comedian and grandfather to a child with autism.
Fox News’ Jamie Joseph and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
