One of Donald Trump’s most vocal haters is the actor and film-festival founder Robert De Niro, a man who once called the insurrection-adjacent failed incumbent the star of a “tragic dumbass comedy.†Two weeks after a bleeped-out interview on The View that warned voters against Trump, De Niro formalizes his objection to the former president vis-à -vis an official Joe Biden reelection campaign ad titled “Snapped.†He lends his voice to the 30-second spot, lambasting Trump for his social-media addiction, idiotic statements, and disregard for the Bill of Rights. “From midnight tweets to drinking bleach, to tear-gassing citizens and staging a photo op, we knew Trump was out of control when he was president,†De Niro narrates. “Then he lost the 2020 election and snapped.â€
Aesthetically, the ad is eating off Succession’s plate. It employs a soundtrack full of stressed-out, dissonant violins and an editing style that recalls the tragic dumbass comedy’s opening credits, down to the font choice. Claiming Trump is “threatening to be a dictator†and to “terminate the Constitution,†or else there will be a “bloodbath,†De Niro ends by saying the most politically successful reality-TV star wants “revenge … and he’ll stop at nothing to get it.†If only he had ended the whole thing by saying Trump is “not serious people.â€