WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has systematically abandoned one of the most elemental duties of the American presidency: offering solace and unity in moments of tragedy — even when the victims are his political critics.
Repeatedly on Monday, Trump downplayed the killings of film director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner — both major Democratic donors — due to their past political activism. In doing so, he crystallized a defining feature of his leadership: A willingness to withhold empathy from those Americans he views as adversaries and, at times, to seemingly mock their suffering.
Rob and Michele Singer Reiner were killed in their Los Angeles home on Sunday. Their 32-year-old son, Nick, has been booked on suspicion of murder.
In a social media post Monday morning, Trump asserted that the couple was killed “due to the anger [Rob Reiner] caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.”
Those remarks were met with backlash, including from a number of prominent conservatives.
Asked about that on Monday afternoon, Trump declined to reconsider his statement. “I was not a fan of Rob Reiner at all,” the president said from the Oval Office. “I thought he was very bad for our country.”
Trump offered no condolences for the family.
The president’s response fits within a pattern of behavior documented over several years in which he has declined to express sympathy for victims of violence or tragedy when those individuals represented opposing political viewpoints.
In November, Trump brushed aside explicit threats directed at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican and onetime MAGA loyalist who had recently begun to publicly criticize him and several decisions out of his White House.
“I don’t think her life is in danger,” Trump said when asked about the threats against her. “I don’t think anybody cares about her.”
That same week, Trump pushed aside concerns about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post writer and permanent legal U.S. resident whose 2018 murder the U.S. intelligence community has attributed to the Saudi Arabian government.
“You’re mentioning somebody that was extremely controversial,” Trump responded in November when asked about Khashoggi as he sat next to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. “A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about. Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happened.”
The president has also refrained from the gestures of condolence typically associated with national mourning.
This summer, after Democratic Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman was assassinated, Trump neither called for flags to be lowered nor issued a statement of condolence. Two months later, a gunman fired more than 180 shots at the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Georgia, killing DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose. Trump never acknowledged the attack nor Rose’s death. He also made no mention of the passing of former Vice President Dick Cheney in November. Trump’s approach has extended to events in which his own actions or rhetoric have been scrutinized. He pardoned individuals convicted of assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, later referring to them as “warriors” and “patriots.” According to testimony from a former White House aide, Trump dismissed threats made that day against Vice President Mike Pence, and — angered by Pence’s decision not to challenge Trump’s loss in the certified outcome of the 2020 presidential election — never contacted him to check on his safety even as the Capitol was breached and Secret Service agents moved him to a secure location. The president has also mocked the 2022 assault on Paul Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — an attack that left him hospitalized after a home invader hit the octogenarian with a hammer. “How’s her husband doing by the way?” Trump asked a gathering of California Republicans in 2023. The crowd laughed in response. Presidents have traditionally used their position to provide comfort during national tragedies and to model empathy across political divides. Trump’s approach represents a departure from that tradition — one that some supporters say reflects his authenticity, even as critics argue it normalizes indifference to violence. At a September memorial service for conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, Trump acknowledged that he did not wish good upon his perceived political adversaries. “[Kirk] did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them,” Trump said from the stage in front of a crowd of 90,000 mourners. “That’s where I disagreed with Charlie: I hate my opponent. And I don’t want the best for them.”
Vaughn Hillyard is a senior White House reporter for MS NOW. Recommended
