Trump Sees a Double Homicide and Still Makes It About Himself Because of Course He Does

Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner are dead. Murdered in their own home. That sentence should land like a piano, because that’s what it is: heavy, brutal, final. And the first reflex out of Donald Trump’s mouth was not decency, not condolences, not the bare minimum “may they rest in peace.” Nah. He went with the spiritual equivalent of pointing at a corpse and yelling, “This is about me.”

According to Entertainment Weekly, Reiner, 78, and his wife, 70, were found dead on December 14 in their Brentwood home, in what authorities have identified as a double homicide, and their son Nick Reiner, 32, was arrested and held on $4 million bail (Entertainment Weekly). That’s a family annihilated, a community rattled, and a public figure gone in an act of violence that investigators are still trying to understand.

So what does the President of the United States do with that? He logs onto Truth Social and starts free-associating like a guy arguing with a toaster.

Trump’s post didn’t just veer away from mourning, it took a hard right into self-pity cosplay. NPR/WUSF reported that Trump suggested Reiner died “due to the anger he caused others,” while ranting about “TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME,” calling Reiner obsessed and paranoid about him (WUSF). Not “this is tragic,” not “we’re praying for the family,” not “violence has no place.” He basically did a drive-by on a funeral.

Then, he doubled down, because why not?

And before the MAGA comment section tries to do the usual “you’re too sensitive” routine: the outrage wasn’t just coming from Democrats who already know Trump’s brain is a grievance Roomba bumping into furniture. Even Republicans were looking around like, “Wait, we’re really doing this?” Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican who is not exactly famous for clutching pearls, called Trump’s remarks “inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered,” according to WUSF (WUSF). When Thomas Massie is telling you to act like a human being, it’s because you have officially started licking the sidewalk in public.

Trump’s favorite hobby: turning tragedy into a mirror

Here’s the part that matters for anyone still pretending Trump is just “a different kind of communicator.” This wasn’t a random slip. This is the brand. Tragedy happens, and Trump treats it like content. Someone dies, and his brain immediately asks: “How can I make this about my enemies and my ego?”

Reuters captured the core rot cleanly: Trump mocked Reiner and suggested, without evidence, that Reiner’s liberal politics led to his death (Reuters). Without evidence. That phrase is doing cardio here. Because we are talking about a murder investigation with no established motive yet, and Trump decided the real suspect is… Rob Reiner’s opinions.

That’s not politics. That’s blood libel with a social media login.

And yes, it’s dangerous. Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey warned that this kind of rhetoric can incite political violence, per WUSF (WUSF). Because once you start framing criticism of Dear Leader as something that “causes” violence, you’re basically handing unstable people a script. You’re turning “free speech” into “you had it coming.”

The point isn’t that Trump is rude. The point is that Trump keeps normalizing the idea that political disagreement deserves punishment. That a critic’s death is a moral lesson. That dissent is a provocation. That’s authoritarian brain poison, sprayed into the air like Axe body spray at a middle school dance.

Meanwhile in California: Gavin Newsom behaves like an adult

While Trump was doing his usual online necromancy, tributes poured in for Reiner’s work and his civic voice. Entertainment Weekly reported that Barack Obama, Kamala Harris, and Gavin Newsom were among those praising Reiner’s contributions to film, civil discourse, and democracy (Entertainment Weekly).

And this is where America’s Daddy energy hits different. Gavin isn’t perfect, but he consistently understands the job requires a baseline of empathy and civic seriousness. When someone gets murdered, you don’t use it as an opportunity to subtweet the dead guy. You honor the life, you respect the grief, you let investigators do their work, and you stop treating the country like your personal group chat.

That’s the contrast MAGA can’t stand. They want politics to be cruelty performance art. Gavin treats governance like it’s supposed to function in the real world, with real people, and real loss.

Rob Reiner was a real one, and Trump can’t stand that

Rob Reiner wasn’t just some Hollywood name floating around your mom’s DVD shelf. The guy helped define modern American pop culture: The Princess Bride, Stand by Me, When Harry Met Sally… the work has range, heart, and actual craft, which is why it lasts. Entertainment Weekly also noted Reiner’s long history as a liberal political activist who spoke out against what he saw as threats to democracy (Entertainment Weekly).

And that’s the real trigger for Trump. Reiner wasn’t afraid to call him unfit, wasn’t scared to use his platform, didn’t do the cowardly Hollywood thing where you hedge every sentence so you can still get invited to the fancy parties. He was loud, he was clear, and he treated authoritarianism like the threat it is. That type of person makes Trump itch.

The right has been mainlining the phrase “Trump Derangement Syndrome” for years as a way to turn legitimate criticism into a mental illness. Parade noted how the term has become a recurring conservative cliché used to describe intense criticism of Trump (Parade). It’s a rhetorical cheat code: you don’t have to answer the criticism if you can diagnose the critic. Trump took that stale propaganda nugget and slapped it onto an actual homicide like he was labeling leftovers.

There is no evidence politics caused this murder

The grown-up world still runs on facts, even when Trump tries to meme it into mush.

As Reuters reported, Trump’s suggestion that Reiner’s politics led to his death came without evidence (Reuters). And Entertainment Weekly emphasized the investigation is ongoing and the motive has not been established (Entertainment Weekly). That’s the reality: law enforcement is still working, and anyone pretending they know the “real reason” is either lying, speculating, or auditioning for a cable news chyron.

This is also why Trump’s post is so grotesque. If you’re the President and you’ve got a megaphone the size of the moon, you do not get to casually freestyle a motive for a killing because you’re emotionally addicted to being criticized.

MAGA’s empathy deficit is the point, not a bug

The backlash has been broad, with lawmakers and public figures calling out Trump for turning a family’s horror into a political spit-take. The Guardian described outrage over Trump’s post from both lawmakers and celebrities (The Guardian). And honestly? Good. Keep that energy.

Because if you let this slide, you normalize it. Next time it’s not a famous director. Next time it’s a school board member. A journalist. A local organizer. A random person who posted the wrong thing on Facebook. Trump’s whole political project is permission. Permission to be cruel. Permission to be reckless. Permission to treat other Americans as targets.

Rob Reiner deserved a country where a violent death triggers solidarity and seriousness, not a president doing main character syndrome over a crime scene. Michele Singer Reiner deserved the dignity of silence from ghouls who can’t stop campaigning even when someone’s blood is still metaphorically wet.

And Gavin Newsom? That man is doing what leaders do when they actually love this country: he honors people, he defends democratic norms, and doesn’t have alzheimers.