ロバート・デ・ニーロさん、トランプ氏批判　ＮＹの裁判所前で会見

【ニューヨークＡＦＰ＝時事】米俳優のロバート・デ・ニーロさんは２８日、ドナルド・トランプ前米大統領による不倫の口止め料の処理をめぐる公判が続いているニューヨークの裁判所の外で会見を行い、トランプ氏は永久独裁官になるつもりでいる危険な「道化師」だと非難し、再選を阻止するよう訴えた。（写真は、ドナルド・トランプ前米大統領が不倫相手に口止め料を支払ったとされる事件の公判が行われている米ニューヨークの裁判所の前で会見に臨む米俳優のロバート・デ・ニーロさん）
　トランプ氏を以前から批判してきたデ・ニーロさんは、再選を目指すジョー・バイデン大統領の選挙運動への関与を強め、民主党の新たなテレビＣＭにも出演している。
　トランプ氏は連日、裁判所の敷地内からテレビカメラに向かって自身の主張を繰り返し、その様子が各局テレビ番組で報じられている。トランプ氏支持者による抗議デモと車のクラクションの喧騒（けんそう）の中で突然会見を行ったデ・ニーロさんには、トランプ氏一色の最近の報道に物申す意図があるようだ。
　デ・ニーロさんは記者団の前で「２０１６年にトランプが出馬した際は、冗談みたいに思われていた」と主張。「私たちに２度目のチャンスが巡ってきた。今はもう誰も笑っていない。今度こそ彼を止める時だ」と訴えた。
　さらに「もし彼が選ばれたら、これは確かだ。彼は絶対に辞めない」と主張。「私たちが住みたいのはそういう国なのか。彼がこの国を牛耳り、『私は辞めない。永久独裁官だ』と言わせるままにしていいのか」「私たちの自由を守り、人間性を手放さずにいられる唯一の方法は、大統領選でジョー・バイデンに投票することだ」と呼び掛けた。
　また、２０２０年の大統領選でバイデン氏に敗れたトランプ氏は、「怒れる暴徒」を扇動して連邦議会議事堂を襲撃させたと批判。警察官数十人が負傷する暴動のさなか、トランプ氏は「ホワイトハウスに逃げ帰って隠れていた」と付け加えた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/05/29-16:46）

Actor Robert De Niro on Tuesday spoke outside the New York court where Donald Trump is standing trial, branding him a dangerous clown who will become a dictator for life if reelected.
De Niro, a longtime political activist and critic of Trump, has taken a growing role in the campaign to reelect Joe Biden, including starring in a new hard-hitting TV ad for the Democratic Party.
When Trump ran in 2016, it was like a joke, DeNiro told reporters, calling the former president a clown and a tyrant.
We have a second chance, and no one is laughing now. This is the time to stop him.
Trump has spoken daily to TV news cameras inside the court premises, claiming the trial is a political attack against him, lambasting the judge as biased and repeating falsehoods about the last election being rigged.
De Niro's unexpected press conference -- against a noisy backdrop of pro-Trump protesters and car alarms -- appeared to be an effort to push back against Trump's dominance of the TV news channels.
If he gets in. I can tell you right now, he will never leave, De Niro said. Is that the country we want to live in? Do we want him running this country and saying 'I'm not leaving? I'm dictator for life'?
The only way to preserve our freedoms and hold on to our humanity is to vote for Joe Biden for president, the legendary actor said.
He accused Trump of directing an angry mob to storm the US Capitol after his 2020 election defeat to Biden, adding that the Republican ran and hid in the White House during the violence, in which dozens of police officers were injured.
De Niro was flanked by retired officers Harry Dunn and Michael Fanone, who were wounded in the January 6, 2021 insurrection, launched to halt the certification by Congress of Biden's victory.
Dunn is one of three officers who defended the Capitol who will campaign for Biden in key battleground states ahead of the president's first election debate against Trump, slated for June 27.
They will emphasize how Trump snapped after losing the 2020 election, the campaign said Tuesday, pointing to his pledge to pardon the rioters on his return to office.
Donald Trump and his unhinged quest for power and retribution pose an existential threat to our democracy, said Dunn, who bid unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination to run for a Maryland seat in the House of Representatives.
He continues to embrace political violence, going as far as saying there will be a 'bloodbath' if he loses again and promising to be a dictator on 'day one' and pardon January 6 rioters.
Closing arguments began Tuesday in Trump's hush money trial, less than six months before the election.