The Washington Examiner’s Byron York argued that the Biden campaign recruiting actor Robert De Niro marked a “huge change” for President Joe Biden’s 2024 campaign strategy, specifically in how he approaches former President Donald Trump’s legal battles.

York explained that the atmosphere outside the courthouse of Trump’s legal fight in Manhattan had not been considered “a big circus” until De Niro’s press conference was drowned out by Trump supporters on Tuesday. He added that before Tuesday, Biden had distanced himself from the trial.

“Clearly he was being quiet, then we got a leak a couple days ago to the effect that Biden would make a statement when there was a verdict, but he would do it in a White House setting so people wouldn’t think it was political,” York said on Fox News’s America’s Newsroom. “Good luck with that. And now you have his team actually jumping right into this. Can’t even wait for a verdict!”

York also addressed the case against Trump, which currently looks to be “pretty flimsy,” arguing the charges should have been a misdemeanor with the intent to commit another misdemeanor “that might be based on a civil violation of federal election law.”

Karl Rove, who served as an adviser to former President George W. Bush, also suggested that it was a “stupid mistake” for the Biden campaign to recruit De Niro for a press conference. He noted that the strategy of demonizing Trump as a threat to both the United States and the world is not a successful way to reach out to voters, especially those who dislike both Trump and Biden.

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De Niro was joined by Harry Dunn and Michael Fanone, former police officers who defended the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot, at the press conference that saw the actor also refer to Trump as a “clown.” Trump supporters who were there outside the trial widely mocked De Niro’s speech, with one car alarm going off as the actor was speaking.

Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s campaign press secretary, knocked the Biden campaign for De Niro’s appearance, claiming the campaign “knows that they are losing.” She added that the use of De Niro indicates a confession that Trump’s legal battles are “a witch hunt that comes from the top, comes from Joe Biden.”