During times of national tragedy and grief, Donald Trump often chooses not to play the traditional presidential role of comforting the nation.
Tributes pour in for late actor and director Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle
Stars and politicians have paid tribute to Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle after they died in an “obvious murder”.
WASHINGTON – Two tragedies over the weekend have given President Donald Trump a chance to step into a role typically unavailable to other presidents: commander-in-chief of a grieving nation.
In both cases, the right words or emotions didn’t seem to get through to him.
President Trump posted a message on social media that was met with little comfort and much ridicule in response to the brutal murders of actor and director Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle Singer. Trump said Reiner, a liberal activist who was critical of the president and his administration, “reportedly died from the anger he provoked in others due to a serious, humiliating, and incurable illness caused by the paralyzing illness known as Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
Police have charged the couple’s son, Nick Reiner, 32, with murder, but have not yet released a motive.
Asked about Reiner’s death later in the Oval Office, Trump said he had no regrets about his comments.
“I’ve never been a fan of Rob Reiner, in any way, shape, or form,” he said, calling the actor “mentally insane.”
Hours earlier, President Trump responded to the mass shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island that killed two students and injured nine others, making brief remarks that were perceived by some as tepid and even heartless.
“Anything can happen,” he told the crowd at the White House, adding that he wished the injured a speedy recovery and offered his “heartfelt sympathies” to the families of the deceased.
“This is very important,” he concluded. “And we take it seriously.”
The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
Lack of “rhetorical leadership”
Presidents have long been expected to unite the nation and provide comfort in times of sadness and tragedy. Most of them faced hardships.
From Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address to Ronald Reagan praising the heroism of the doomed astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger to George W. Bush standing in the smoldering ruins of the World Trade Center after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, presidents have assumed the role of commander-in-chief and helped Americans overcome the darkness of misfortune and disaster.
“U.S. presidents typically do this by invoking national values and explaining to the nation that if we stay true to our values, our values will get us through tragedy,” said Jennifer Mercieca, a historian of American political rhetoric at Texas A&M University. “This is an uplifting and unifying form of speech that gives a noble purpose to our suffering.”
But Trump “hasn’t demonstrated that he’s capable of that kind of rhetorical leadership,” Mercieca said. “He couldn’t speak upliftingly about our values. He didn’t try to unite the country. And he didn’t try to help us understand the many senseless tragedies we went through while he was president.”
When a commercial jetliner and a military helicopter collided over Washington in January, killing 67 people, President Trump held a moment of silence for the victims just before launching the attack. He blamed the crash on the emphasis placed on diversity in hiring by his Democratic predecessors, Joe Biden and Barack Obama, which led to lower standards for air traffic controllers.
President Trump has remained silent about the death of former Vice President Dick Cheney, and in some cases has ignored the deaths of important figures that other presidents would have mourned, such as by absenting himself from Cheney’s funeral.
President Trump has occasionally made jokes at the expense of the dead. Last week, he touted the success of his administration’s policy of attacking and destroying suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean. At least 87 people were killed in the attack.
“Would you like to go fishing over there?” he said from the Oval Office on Friday, Dec. 12. “Does anyone want to go fishing in that area?”
“This is not an appropriate response.”
Trump’s vitriolic comments about Reiner’s death crossed a line even for some of his fellow Republicans.
“This is a family tragedy, not about politics or political opponents,” Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said in a post on social media platform X.
Rep. Thomas Massey (R-Ky.) said on X that regardless of how people feel about Reiner, “this is inappropriate and disrespectful rhetoric about a man who was brutally murdered. Will my Republican colleagues, the vice president, and my White House staff ignore it out of fear? I call on everyone to stand up.”
Jenna Ellis, a conservative lawyer who was a member of Trump’s reelection team and promoted false claims of election fraud in the 2020 election, added of X: “A man and his wife were murdered last night. This is not the appropriate response.”
Mocking Rob Reiner, mourning Charlie Kirk
President Trump’s reaction to Reiner’s killing stands in sharp contrast to his response to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a Trump supporter, on a college campus in Utah in September. In a four-minute speech from the Oval Office, President Trump called Kirk a “martyr for truth and freedom” and said he was “filled with sadness and anger at this heinous assassination.”
Members of Kirk’s administration also cracked down on any criticism of Mr. Kirk.
The Pentagon warned that it was closely tracking posts by military personnel and employees that mocked or celebrated Kirk’s death. A Marine who called Kirk a “racist” on social media has been fired. The State Department announced it had revoked the visas of at least six foreign nationals who celebrated Kirk’s death.
A Reuters analysis found that more than 600 Americans have been fired, suspended, investigated or disciplined by their employers for their comments about Kirk’s death.
But Reiner was not given any of the courtesy of death that President Trump gave Kirk. Trump derided him as “tortured and struggling” and said he was “known for driving people crazy with his rabid obsession with President Donald J. Trump,” which he said was “clear paranoia” and that his administration had reached new heights by “exceeding all goals and expectations for greatness.”
Finally, President Trump concluded his 110-word statement with a fitting requiem for the deceased.
“May Rob and Michelle rest in peace!” he concluded.
Contributor: Joey Garrison
Michael Collins writes about the intersection of politics and culture. He is a veteran reporter who has covered the White House and Congress. Follow him on X: @mcollinsNEWS
