Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), a leading contender to be former President Donald Trump’s vice presidential nominee, answered several key questions from Breitbart News in an exclusive written question-and-answer interview following Hollywood star Robert De Niro’s appearance outside the Manhattan courthouse where Trump is on trial, at the request of Democratic President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign.
The moment, one of the most crucial so far in the 2024 presidential election, marked a fiery attack by a sitting US president against a political opponent. Vance, who is also a possible running mate for Trump, believes political forecasters will look back on the moment as similar to the infamous speech given by former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, the failed 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, in which she denounced Trump’s supporters as a “bunch of deplorables” who were “hopeless.”
That’s because De Niro, representing Biden at an official Biden campaign event outside the courthouse, attacked Trump supporters as “gangsters” and “clowns.”
Vance’s interview also offers important insights into Trump’s election victory strategy and how the former president should continue to reach out to working-class and Rust Belt voters in Vance’s state of Ohio, as well as neighboring states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Vance’s advice on how to strengthen Trump’s already “strong” connection with working-class voters will be key for the former president as he embarks on an effort to orchestrate the greatest political comeback in human history.
Hahahahaha https://t.co/L1up5wLWFw
—Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) May 28, 2024
And most importantly, Vance argues that the incident with De Niro at a Biden campaign event outside a Manhattan courthouse conclusively proves what Trump and his supporters have long argued: that Biden is behind these political prosecutions of Trump and is weaponizing the government, either through his own administration or through allies, including Democratic, George Soros-funded prosecutors like Alvin Bragg in Manhattan and Fani Willis in Atlanta.
Vance called this a “mask-off moment for the Biden administration,” and his insights on this in particular are thought-provoking.
So, without further ado, in the aftermath of De Niro’s major campaign stint with Biden, here is the full transcript of Breitbart News’ exchange with Senator Vance on the subject on Tuesday afternoon, on the sidelines of a Trump fundraiser.
Breitbart News Network (BNN): What do you think about the Biden campaign’s decision to invite Robert De Niro to hold a press conference outside the Trump courtroom on the day of closing arguments?
Senator J.D. Vance: First of all, what does a president have to do with a show trial of his biggest political opponent? The administration of fair justice requires that jurors not feel intimidated. Would you feel intimidated if the president sent a corps of screaming reporters outside the courtroom? The Biden administration’s argument so far is that this is a local lawsuit in New York. They are not involved at all. So they decided to show up for closing arguments and hold a campaign rally?
De Niro, of course, is a joke. His wild gestures, his words. He’s a struggling actor campaigning for a struggling president. We’ve been saying this whole trial is a political play for Joe Biden, and now he’s decided to send a literal actor to his rally on closing argument day? It’s like the Democrats are trying to make the arguments for us.
BNN: De Niro repeatedly referred to Trump supporters as “clowns” and “gangsters” during public appearances today, eerily reminiscent of when Hillary Clinton called Trump supporters “hopeless” and “deplorables.”
Vance: That’s exactly what I was thinking. This is the first rule of American politics: Attack the candidates, attack their campaigns, attack their policies, but don’t attack the voters. The purpose of an election is to persuade voters, not to insult them. So you put rich actors in front of the courts to abuse people? Is that the election strategy of the Biden administration? No wonder they’re struggling.
The contrast with the Trump campaign is truly striking.
A week ago, Trump headed to the South Bronx to campaign in a traditionally Democratic area. His message? We’re all Americans. We’re all on the same team. Joe Biden has let you down. I want to help you.
Hey brother. pic.twitter.com/hIevpJQd5S
—Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) May 28, 2024
The Biden campaign’s message is: “Don’t believe your lies. Inflation is not a bad thing. America has not lost its place in the world. All is well. If you don’t agree with that, you’re either a clown or a gangster.”
The Trump team treats the American people with respect and dignity. The Biden team treats us like children. We’ll see which approach works in November.
BNN: While all this is happening, the Biden campaign is not focusing on the concerns of working-class Americans in Rust Belt states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Just today, the Democratic county mayor of Macomb County, Michigan announced that he will not support Biden this year. Do you think the Biden campaign’s insensitive response will help Trump reconnect with Rust Belt voters and flip these states back to Republican in November?
Vance: One thing I thought as I watched De Niro act so stupid is that Trump supporters, especially rural white people, are the last group of people in the country it’s okay to insult. Can you imagine what would happen if De Niro called any other group of voters a “gang”? That would be a career-ending move.
I think this gives Trump a great opportunity. His connection with voters has always been very strong, and I think it’s based on two things. The first is that Trump says what he thinks. Whether you agree or disagree, it’s clear that he’s not selling bullshit. Workers respect each other because they’re open and forthright. The second strength of Trump is that people can see that he actually likes them and respects them as human beings. For a long time, many Democrat and even Republican politicians have shamed ordinary Americans. They think that their values are outdated, that patriotism is vulgar, and that their jobs are part of the old economy. But what people are waking up to is, if a politician disrespects you, would they fight for you, your job, your family? A campaign that sends actors to call you a gangster doesn’t care about you at all. They don’t even feel guilty about moving their jobs to China.
Trump has a chance to say, “I am your advocate. I am the man who will fight for your wages, your jobs, your public safety, your communities. Don’t entrust power to a man who disrespects you. Trust me, someone who truly respects you.” This is a golden opportunity to please working-class voters in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
BNN: It seems especially ironic that a Hollywood elite like De Niro, famous for playing gangster roles in films like The Godfather, Casino and The Irishman, would preach about the importance of the 2024 election while calling tens of millions of Americans “gangsters,” but perhaps even more incredible in the sense that it illustrates very clearly the different sides of this election: on one side are the Hollywood elite, Wall Street bankers and well-connected politicians, and on the other, working-class union workers and families who are suffering because of Biden’s inflation and immigration policies. What do you think about this contrast?
Vance: It’s ironic. De Niro got rich playing gangsters in movies, but now he wants to call people who build buildings and make the things we use every day gangsters?
Sometimes we overcomplicate the issue. Robert De Niro and other Hollywood elites love illegal immigrants because they can hire cheap servants in their mansions without ever meeting regular citizens of their own country. Wall Street loves them because cheap labor gets them rich. And Democratic politicians get more votes.
Ordinary Americans are consuming fentanyl in their communities, seeing illegals on the streets, and being underpaid for their jobs.
Donald Trump talks about higher wages and safer streets. Joe Biden talks about cheap labor and fentanyl. We need to keep that message going through November.
US actor Robert De Niro speaks in support of US President Joe Biden outside Manhattan Criminal Court as former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends his criminal trial in New York City on May 28, 2024. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)
BNN: But perhaps the most surprising thing about this moment is the fact that this decision by the Biden campaign after years of denial seems to confirm what we’ve all known all along: that behind this political prosecution are Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and the Democratic Party, for political purposes. What do you think about the perception that the Biden campaign is engaging in this kind of political machinations? Has the whole secret been let out now?
Vance: You know, Matt, I’m not afraid of partisanship. Some issues are really Democrat vs. Republican. But this is about whether we’re a corrupt country. Do we want a standard where you can send your political opponent to jail just because you won an election that you should have lost? Do we want a president to send his lawyers to the district attorney’s office to go after his rival? And do we want a campaign rally on the day of jury instructions? If this isn’t political, why have a campaign rally on the day the jury is going to deliberate its verdict?
This is a revealing moment for the Biden Administration, and I use that word carefully. For the first time in my lifetime, we have an administration that is willing to discard nearly three centuries of legal tradition in order to gain power. Our ancestors fought, bled, and died to create a nation where “equal justice under the law” meant something. Biden and his cohorts are willing to throw it all away to win the election.
I’m optimistic because I don’t think it’s going to work. I really think Trump will win. But as Republicans, we must have the courage to make sure those who corrupted our justice system are punished. If these people don’t face any punishment for what they did to Trump, they will eventually do the same to every Republican elected official in the country. That’s how a banana republic works. It doesn’t end with the one at the top.
