Months before his murder, Rob Reiner spoke about the power of forgiveness after the “horrific” killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
“Horrifying. Absolutely terrifying,” said the director, actor and political activist when asked about the shooting in a TV interview with Piers Morgan. “Unfortunately I saw the video of it and you can’t believe what happened to him, and that shouldn’t happen to anyone. I don’t care what your political beliefs are. That’s not acceptable.”
Contrast that with President Trump’s response to the murders of Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, who were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood home on Sunday. Their son, Nick Reiner, has been arrested in connection with the murder.
“Rob Reiner, the troubled and struggling, but once film director and comedy star, has died, along with his wife, Michele, reportedly from the anger he caused others through his intense, unreserved, incurable mental illness sometimes known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME in a TDS post.
“He was known to have driven people crazy with his love for President Donald J. Trump, and his open-mindedness reached new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and the Golden Age of America is upon us, perhaps like never before. May Rob and Michele rest in peace!”
How is that anyone’s the first reaction to the tragic killing, let alone an official comment from the sitting US president? That’s a silly question, of course. It’s another Monday in the Trump White House.
I’d be crying into space if I used the rest of this column to argue that the president is not only off his rocker but has also fallen down the stairs and is on stage, saying something about speedboats, pigs and ballrooms. In his race to the ground, he broke into the ground. Now we are in the Trump Upside Down, where compassion and decency are negative qualities.
Even Republican lawmakers were forced to speak out against their feared leader. “This is a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies,” Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said in response to Trump’s post.
Mike Lawler (RN.Y.) wrote of X, “Regardless of one’s political views, no one should be victimized, let alone one’s own son. It is a horrific tragedy that should evoke sympathy and compassion from all people in our country, period.”
Don Bacon (R-Neb.) put it succinctly and sweetly to CNN’s Jake Tapper: “I would expect to hear something like this from a drunk in a bar, not the President of the United States. Can the President be president?”
No, he won’t. When given the opportunity Monday to appear as a leader during a White House news conference, Trump doubled down on his distaste for Reiner, saying he was “not a fan” and that the director was a “confused person.”
Translation: Reiner was a Trump critic and the president is so thin-skinned that it’s almost rice paper at this point. But the social producer’s conscience was evident in everything he did, starting with his role as “All in the Family’s” liberal, hippie son-in-law to crank Archie Bunker. It was the 1970s, and Meathead (aka Michael) kept calling Archie racist, bigoted and sexist on the weekly sitcom. Archie’s riots are now the stuff of crass and attention-seeking politicians, but at the time, his rhetoric against “dissidents” and “coloreds” represented old prejudices that needed to be dismantled if the country was to move forward. Show creator Norman Lear made evil fun by using Meathead to portray Archie’s ignorance. Even then, Reiner was poking the bear.
Reiner was a staunch critic of Trump and other leaders and organizations that sought to erode the freedoms believed to be enshrined in the Constitution — until MAGA began dismantling it one by one. The comedian was an advocate for democratic principles, democratic elections, same-sex marriage, early childhood education, and government transparency, spearheading California’s Proposition 10 (First 5) to fund early development programs through tobacco taxes. He also helped overturn Proposition 8, California’s brief ban on gay marriage.
Reiner’s understanding that it takes all forms was reflected in his work. He was a wide-ranging director, as they say in the industry, leading a series of films that became cultural touchstones, beginning with 1984’s sensational “This Is Spinal Tap,” a satire that forever changed the language of heavy-metal decibel levels (“Crank it to 11!”). Then came 1986’s coming-of-age drama “Stand by Me,” 1989’s romantic comedy “When Harry Met Sally…,” and 1990’s horror, psychological thriller “Misery,” about a wounded novelist held hostage by his biggest fan.
Some of his films deal directly with the inequality and violence that Reiner fought so hard to correct in his own life. “Ghosts of Mississippi” examined the 1994 trial of Byron De La Beckwith, a white scholar accused of murdering civil rights activist Medgar Evers in 1963. And Reiner’s 2017 drama “Shock and Awe” told the true story of a team of journalists who challenged the Bush administration’s reasons for invading Iraq in 2003 when they discovered false intelligence about weapons of mass destruction.
Although it was already acceptable to speak out against that war in the Middle East, in the same week of the film’s release, he participated by signing a petition led by Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir criticizing Trump’s 2017 decision to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Reiner, who is Jewish, told The National that Trump “had no idea of world events or how things are connected. There was no thought that went into this decision, no communication with partners in the Arab world, or non-Arab countries to see what the impact of something like this is.”
Reiner saw the grief and sadness in Kirk’s death because he was able to sympathize with the loss of life, regardless of differing opinions.
