Hours after Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle were found dead in their home in a heartbreaking family tragedy, our the president accused Reiner for his own death.
“Last night, a very sad event occurred in Hollywood. Rob Reiner, a tormented and struggling but once very talented film director and comedic star, passed away with his wife Michelle, reportedly due to the anger he caused in others with his severe, unrelenting and incurable affliction, the mind-paralyzing disease known as TRUMP SYNDROME, sometimes called TDS.” President Trump wrote on its social media platform. “He was known to drive people crazy with his raging obsession with President Donald Trump, and his apparent paranoia reached new heights as the Trump Administration exceeded all goals and expectations of greatness and an American Golden Age was upon us, perhaps like never before. May Rob and Michelle rest in peace!”
Then in the Oval Office Trump doubled down on Reiner.
“He was a deranged man,” Trump said in response to a reporter's question about his social media post. “I wasn't a fan of Rob Reiner at all, in any way shape or form. I thought he was very bad for our country.”
Indeed, rest in peace.
It is a message steeped in cruelty and delusion, unbelievable and despicable even from the low, mud-buried stand by which we have collectively come to judge Trump. In a city (and time) of selfishness and self-interest, Reiner was one of the good guys, always fighting, both in his films and in politics, to make the world a kinder and closer place. And yes, that meant fighting against Trump and his increasingly chaotic and authoritarian rule.
For years, Reiner has made the politics of inclusion and integrity a central part of his life. He was Key player in overturning California's same-sex marriage ban and fought to expand preschool education.
Over the past few months, he has been focused on the upcoming midterm elections as the last and best chance to protect American democracy, something that has clearly angered Trump.
“Make no mistake, we have a year before this country becomes a full autocracy,” Reiner told MSNBC host Ali Velshi in October. “People care about their pocketbooks, the price of eggs. They care about their health care, and they should. These are the things that directly affect them. But if they lose their democracy, all these rights, freedom of speech, freedom to pray the way you want, freedom to protest and not go to jail, not be sent out of the country without due process, all of these things will be taken away from them.”
The Rayners' son, Nick Rayner, was arrested on suspicion of murder. Nick Reiner struggled with addiction, in and out of rehab. But Trump seems to be saying that if Nick is indeed a criminal, then he was acting for political reasons in support of Trump, which is obviously highly unlikely and, well, just a weird and crazy claim.
But he is also deeply hypocritical.
Just a few months ago, in September, Charlie Kirk was murdered, and Trump and his MAGA regime went crazy over anyone who dared whisper a critical word about Kirk. Trump called it “sick” and “crazy” that anyone would celebrate Kirk's death and blamed the “radical left” for rhetoric inciting violence.
Vice President J.D. Vance, channeling his inner Scarlett O'Haraswore “with God as my witnessIn reality, he's basically just using the state to persecute people who vocally oppose Trump.
And just in case you thought maybe, just maybe, our president somehow truly has the best interests of all Americans at heart, remember that when talking about Kirk, Trump said he had one point of disagreement. Kirk, he said, has forgiven his enemies.
“I disagree with Charlie on this,” Trump said. “I hate my opponent and do not wish him well.”
There was such deep malice in Trump's remarks about Reiner that even Marjorie Taylor Greene objected. She was once Trump's staunchest supporter before he branded her a traitor, allowing his squad of thugs to terrorize her with death threats.
“This is a family tragedy, not politics or political enemies,” Greene wrote on social networks. “Many families are dealing with a family member suffering from drug addiction and mental health issues. It is incredibly difficult and should be treated with compassion, especially when it ends in murder.”
But Trump has put cruelty first. His need to dehumanize everyone who opposes him, including Reiner and even Green, is exactly what Reiner warned us about.
Because when you allow people to be dehumanized, you stop caring about them—and Reiner wasn't going to let us stop caring.
He saw the world through the eyes of an artist and the heart of a warrior – a powerful combination reflected in his films. He challenged us believe in true lovepostpone our cynicismbe both silly And braveknowing that both are critical to a successful life.
It was this clarity from the man who won not only our attention and our respect, but also our hearts, that drove Trump crazy and made Reiner such a powerful threat to him. Republican or Democrat, his films reminded us of what we have in common.
But it could be Michael Douglas's speech on The American President in 1995. this is most relevant at the moment. Douglas's character, President Andrew Shepard, says, “America is a developed citizenry. You have to want it badly, because it will resist.”
Shepard's rival, a man seeking power over a target, is “interested in two things and two things only—making you afraid of 'it' and telling you who's to blame for 'it.' »
Sound familiar?
That our President felt the need to destroy Reiner before his body was even buried would be a badge of honor for Reiner, an acknowledgment that Reiner's warnings carried weight and that Reiner was a messenger to be reckoned with.
Reiner knew what good citizenship meant and was eager for democracy to survive.
If Trump's eulogy disgusts you as much as it does me, here's what you can do about it: Vote in November in Reiner's memory.
Your ballot is the rebuke Trump fears most.
And your voice is the most powerful way to honor a man who dedicated his life to reminding us that courage is the courage to care.
