Jack White has stepped in to defend the honor of Rob Reiner after President Donald Trump used the acclaimed actor and director’s death as a jumping off point for an unhinged and deeply insensitive rant.
“Trump you disgusting, vile, egomaniac loser, child,” White wrote on Instagram, reposting a screenshot of Trump’s Truth Social post. “Neither he nor any one of his followers can defend this gross, horrible insult to a beautiful artist who gave the world so much. To use someone’s tragic death to promote your own vanity and fascist authoritarian agenda is a corrupt and narcissistic sin. Shame on you trump and anyone who defends this.”
In the post, the president momentarily appeared to be mourning Reiner, though that only lasted through the first sentence of his response. What followed can be described as gross victim blaming. Reiner died alongside his wife at their California home, which police are treating as apparent homicides. Their son Nick has been arrested after allegedly killing his parents in their Los Angeles home.
Trump wrote that the couple had “passed away,” due to “the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS.” After ranting on about “his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump” and the so-called “Golden Age of America,” Trump added, “May Rob and Michele rest in peace.”
Reiner was outspoken about his political perspective both in his life and in his work. A Few Good Men, The American President, Shock and Awe, and LBJ are among the entires in his filmography that grapple with complex political landscapes and encourage viewers to look closer at the broader implications of various government decisions. In an interview with Rolling Stone published in May, Reiner called Trump out for trying to “turn this country into a full-blown autocracy,” adding, “And because he’s so dumb and he’s such an incompetent person, he’ll fail, just like he’s failed with everything he’s ever done in his life.”
White returned the focus back to Reiner at the end of his caption, joining those who have shared heartfelt tributes remembering his life and legacy. “God bless you Rob Reiner and thank you for what you gave the world,” he wrote. “I never even met you and I still stand by you.”
