Actor Robert De Niro urged voters to cast ballots early in a political advertisement released Thursday by Indivisible, a progressive political organization. The video was part of the group’s Hands Off Our Vote campaign, which it described as an effort to protect voting rights.
De Niro said in the ad that voting is a constitutional right, but argued that the Trump administration and the Supreme Court were not respecting constitutional rights. The supplied report did not provide a response from the Supreme Court or additional evidence for De Niro’s assertion.
The actor, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump, used the video to argue that voters should be able to support the candidates of their choice. He criticized what he portrayed as efforts by powerful people to weaken voters’ influence, and said opponents were challenging those efforts in court and through public demonstrations.
De Niro encouraged viewers to vote early, either by mail or in person. He argued that casting a ballot before Election Day would mean a vote was already submitted if problems arose on Election Day. The ad did not identify a specific planned action by the administration or describe evidence that election interference was underway.
The White House responded through spokesman Davis Ingle, who attacked De Niro personally and accused him of using hateful rhetoric and encouraging violence. Ingle also said De Niro should seek help. Those comments were the White House’s response to the ad; the supplied report did not include a reply from De Niro.
Fox News Digital said it contacted Indivisible for comment, but the supplied material did not include a response from the group.
The report places the ad amid earlier political disputes over election integrity. It said former Vice President Kamala Harris, in a video released in August, accused Trump and Republicans of trying to cheat and said Democratic election results should be too large to rig. The source did not provide further details about the video or the circumstances surrounding those remarks.
Republicans have criticized Democrats’ warnings about possible election interference and have argued that Democrats oppose election-security measures. The report quoted Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, making that criticism in February. Lee said Democrats were resisting voter identification and proof-of-citizenship requirements and objecting to scrutiny of election security and irregularities.
The competing statements reflect a political dispute over voting rules and confidence in elections. The material provided does not establish that the administration plans to interfere with voting, nor does it independently substantiate the claims made by either side.
