Robert De Niro delivered a scathing critique of former President Donald Trump during a press conference organized by the Biden-Harris campaign in New York City on Tuesday. The event, which took place outside the Manhattan courtroom where Trump is facing trial, saw De Niro label the 45th president as a "danger" to Americans and their freedoms.

"I hope this new ad campaign reaches outside the bubble to remind supporters of what a danger he is to our lives. This is not a threat. This is our reality. And that's why I've joined the Biden-Harris campaign, because the only way to preserve our freedoms and hold on to our humanity is to vote for Joe Biden for president," De Niro said, seemingly genuinely fearful of the future of democracy in the U.S.

Robert DeNiro warns that if Donald Trump gets into office again he will end all your freedoms and he will never leave. pic.twitter.com/H7VAxRP5mL

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) May 28, 2024

Joined by Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler, as well as former Capitol Police officers Michael Fanone and Harry Dunn, who were present during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, De Niro faced heckling from protesters and a blaring car horn at the start of the press conference. Undeterred, the actor argued Trump does not "belong" in New York City, claiming that the former president "wants to destroy" both the city and the nation.

"Donald Trump wants to destroy not only the city, but the country. And eventually he could destroy the world," De Niro warned, expressing his deep concern about the potential consequences of a Trump presidency.

The actor, who recently lent his voice to a Biden-Harris campaign ad titled "Snapped," which portrayed Trump as "out of control" and "threatening to be a 'dictator' to terminate the Constitution," also invoked his personal connection to New York City.

"I owe this city a lot. And that's why it's so weird that Donald Trump is just across the street because he doesn't belong in my city. I don't know where he belongs, but he certainly doesn't belong here. We New Yorkers used to tolerate him when he was just another grubby real estate hustler masquerading as a big shot," De Niro said.

Robert DeNiro is having a really bad time. pic.twitter.com/KCVPmewDJe

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) May 28, 2024

As the Manhattan trial, in which Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records, nears its conclusion, the Trump campaign held a separate press conference following the Biden campaign's event. Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller dismissed De Niro as a "washed up actor," highlighting the contrast between the two campaigns' strategies, according to Fox News.

Trump himself described Tuesday as a "dangerous day for America" as the defense and prosecution teams prepared to make their closing arguments to the jury. In remarks to the media before entering the courtroom, Trump blamed his legal troubles on "crooked Joe Biden," whom he called "the worst president in the history of our country."

"Make no mistake about it, I'm here because of crooked Joe Biden. The worst president in the history of our country, he's destroying our country. This country is being destroyed rapidly, not slowly, rapidly. On the borders, on energy, on inflation, on everything you can name, Afghanistan removal. Everything about what he's done, he's destroying our country, and he's also destroying it with weaponization. And this is purely weaponization," Trump asserted.