“I’ve spent a lot of time studying bad people. I’ve studied their traits, their mannerisms, the banality of their cruelty. And yet there’s something special about Donald Trump,” said Robert De Niro.
When I look at him, I don’t see a bad person. Really.
I see a villain.
I’ve met gangsters here and there over the years. This guy is trying to be one, but he’s not succeeding. There’s such a thing as ‘honor among thieves.’
Yes, even criminals usually understand what’s right and what’s wrong. Whether they do the right thing or not is another story, but they have a moral code, albeit a perverted one.
Donald Trump doesn’t. He poses as a tough guy with no morals or ethics. He has no idea what’s right and what’s wrong. He has no respect for anyone but himself – not the people he’s supposed to lead and to protect, not the people he does business with, not the people who follow him blindly and loyally, not even those who consider themselves his “friends.”
He despises them all.
We New Yorkers got to know him over the years as he poisoned the atmosphere and littered our city with monuments to his ego. We knew firsthand that this was a man who should never have been considered a leader.
In 2016, we tried to warn the world.
The fallout from his tumultuous presidency has divided America and shaken New York to its core. Think of how the crisis shook us in early 2020, when the world was gripped by a virus. We have been exposed daily to Donald Trump’s pompous behavior on the national stage and have suffered as we have seen our neighbors being put in body bags.
The man who was supposed to protect this country put it in danger through his recklessness and impulsiveness. It was like a cruel father ruling his family through fear and aggression. It was the result of New York City ignoring the warning. We know it will be worse next time.
Make no mistake: Twice-impeached, four-time indicted Donald Trump is still a fool. But we cannot allow our fellow Americans to write him off as such. Evil thrives in the shadow of contemptuous mockery, and that is why we must take the danger that Donald Trump poses very seriously.
So today we issue another warning. From this place where Abraham Lincoln spoke – right here where the heart of New York beats – we speak to all of America:
This is our last chance.
Democracy will not survive the return of a self-styled dictator.
And it will not overcome evil if we are divided.
So what do we do about it? I know I am preaching to the choir here. What we are doing today is valuable, but we must carry today into tomorrow – beyond these walls.
We must reach out to the half of our country that ignored the danger that Trump represents and, for whatever reason, supported his return to the White House. They are not stupid, and we should not condemn them for making a stupid choice. Our future does not depend only on us. It depends on them, too.
Let us treat Trump’s followers with respect.
Let us not talk about “democracy.” “Democracy” may be our Holy Grail, but for others it is just a word, a concept, and by embracing Trump they have already turned their backs on it. .
Let us talk about good and evil. Let us talk about humanity.
Let’s talk about kindness. Safety for our world. Safety for our families. Decency.
Let’s welcome them back.
We won’t get them all, but we can get enough to end the Trump nightmare and fulfill the mission of this summit to “stop Trump.”
Robert De Niro delivered this powerful statement at the “Stop Trump Summit,” hosted by The New Republic in New York City on October 11, 2023. Although he was unable to attend in person due to his recovery from COVID-19, his address was read by former Trump administration official Miles Taylor.
In his statement, De Niro emphasized that, based on his years of experience studying and portraying negative characters, he believes Donald Trump is not just a bad person, but “evil.” He criticized Trump as a “pseudo-strongman with no morals or ethics” who has no sense of responsibility to the people he is supposed to protect or lead. De Niro also warned that “democracy will not survive the return of a self-styled dictator” and called for unity to prevent such a development.
The statement echoes De Niro’s long-standing criticism of Trump, having previously called him “absolutely insane,” “blatantly stupid,” and “a real racist.”
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