Robert De Niro has spoken publicly for the first time since an explosive device was sent to his offices in New York.

Speaking on Friday, a day after a pipe bomb was intercepted at the mailroom of Tribeca Enterprises in Lower Manhattan, De Niro thanked law enforcement officials for dealing with the device.

“I thank God no one’s been hurt, and I thank the brave and resourceful security and law enforcement people for protecting us,” he said. “There’s something more powerful than bombs, and that’s your vote. People must vote!”

The actor is believed to have been targeted because of his outspoken criticism of Donald Trump and his administration. In June, De Niro made headlines after saying “fuck Trump” on the live telecast of the Tony awards.

He has previously expressed a desire to punch Trump in the face, as well as calling him “an idiot, a national disaster, an embarrassment to this country … this fool, this bozo”.

On Friday, federal agents were searching a mail facility near Miami, Florida, in their hunt for the sender of about 10 pipe bombs to prominent Democrats and critics of Trump, including Joe Biden and Barack Obama.