Robert De Niro has offered his thoughts on Donald Trump‘s recent conviction.
The former U.S. President was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money paid to the porn star Stormy Daniels. Daniels alleged that she had sexual relations with Trump in 2006, which he has continually denied.
Speaking to Variety on the red carpet of his new movie Ezra, De Niro said of the conviction: “I think justice was served. This is just one part of the whole picture, so I want to be very careful. This never should have gotten to this stage.”
The Taxi Driver actor added: “I don’t want to be talking, but I am so upset by it. I have to say something. This is my country. This guy wants to destroy it. Period. He’s crazy.”
Earlier this week, De Niro turned up outside of Trump’s hush money trial in New York and labelled the businessman and former US president a “monster”. The actor then stated that Trump should never be allowed to be the president of the United States ever again.
“People know that, and many people know that and are afraid to say something, but people have to speak up now and say, and acknowledge to themselves that he’s a monster,” De Niro had told Sky News. “This is the moment of truth for this country. Period.”
In response, Trump took to Truth Social and branded the actor a “wacko” who suffers from “incurable case of Trump derangement syndrome”.
De Niro’s personal feud with Trump goes back before 2016, when the former president was preparing himself for candidacy.
The guilty verdict now makes Trump the first-ever President of the United States to be convicted of a crime. Trump is due to return to Manhattan court on July 11 for his sentencing.
Since being found guilty, Trump has maintained his innocence, calling the verdict “rigged” and “a disgrace”. “We didn’t do a thing wrong. I am a very innocent man. It’s okay, I’m fighting for our country, I’m fighting for our constitution. Our whole country is being rigged right now. This was done by this Biden administration in order to wound, to hurt a political opponent.”
Other members of the entertainment world have taken to social media to share their thoughts on the historic ruling. Barbra Streisand wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “Convicted felon Donald Trump is blaming the judge, the jury and New York for being found guilty on 34 counts. He will never accept accountability for his crimes. Americans must not allow this felon anywhere near the White House again.”
Piers Morgan called the verdict a “massive overreach” and “obviously politically partisan action” for “something so trivial”.
Elsewhere, original Wonder Woman star Lynda Carter wrote: “34 is now my favourite number”, while Stephen King added: “The Republican candidate for President is a convicted felon.”
The verdict is just one of several legal challenges that Donald Trump faces. In August last year, he was arrested in Georgia on charges of plotting to overturn the state’s 2020 election results.
The post Robert De Niro addresses Donald Trump’s guilty verdict: “Justice was served” appeared first on NME.
