Robert De Niro answers Donald Trump’s administration with three blunt words in a new video about voting rights. The 83-year-old actor wants Americans to vote early as the midterms near and a federal fight over voter rolls heats up. He urges people to protect their voting rights from “thugs who are messing with our votes.”
Oscar winner’s appeal to voters before November’s elections
Robert De Niro tells viewers that their vote is their “superpower,” and that some powerful people want to take it from them. His reply to those people is “No fu**ing way.” The actor, a longtime Donald Trump critic, then describes the choice facing voters. He says some candidates back a “would-be king” who drags the country into a disastrous war and profits from it. Others, he says, will protect healthcare and refuse to shield pedophiles. Whichever side people pick, he tells them to vote.
The message came while Trump’s administration presses states to remove people it says are noncitizens from voter rolls. Officials have also suggested that local leaders who refuse could face criminal prosecution.
On October 15, the Department of Justice sued California in federal court. The government wants a ruling that blocks the state from counting mail ballots from “likely noncitizens” until their citizenship is verified. Two days before the suit, federal officials had handed California a list of 20,000 names to purge. The DOJ conceded the list could catch eligible voters but did not back down.
Now, De Niro urges anyone who shares his anger to join Hands Off Our Vote, a group working to defend voters’ rights. The organization’s website accuses the administration of trying to control elections and gain more authoritarian power. It says the group refuses to accept that and wants the people to choose their own leaders. Further, supporters are fighting in court and protesting in the streets.
For individual voters, his tip is simple. Cast a ballot early, by mail or in person, and choose the timing yourself. That way, he says, “your vote will already be banked” no matter what happens on Election Day.
