Yes, President Donald Trump could have taken the high ground rather than excoriating Rob Reiner, the actor, director, and producer found stabbed to death, along with his wife. The Reiners' son, Nick, has been arrested in connection with the murders.
Trump doubled down in a Truth Social post, telling reporters: "I think he hurt himself career-wise. He became like a deranged person, Trump derangement syndrome. So, I was not a fan of Rob Reiner at all in any way, shape, or form. I thought he was very bad for our country."
Criticism about Trump's harsh remarks even came from Trump supporters. But consider Rob Reiner's actions against and statements about candidate and President Trump.
Reiner, months after Trump won the presidency in 2016, co-founded the "nonpartisan" Committee to Investigate Russia. Its mission, said Reiner, was to serve as a "one-stop shop where people can come and be made aware of what the breaking news stories are today, the various investigations, what stages they are in, but also to understand the history, and what the Soviet Union and now Russia has been trying to do for many, many years ... My concern is people don't understand the gravity of what they were able to do."
This committee's advisory board included former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Michael Hayden, former Secretary of Defense, Director of the CIA, and former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, and former Acting Director of the CIA Michael Morell. They were among the 51 "senior" former intelligence officials who signed the letter claiming the Hunter Biden laptop story "has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation."
The Trump-Russian collusion narrative has been debunked. The Russians failed to change a single vote tally. As to the Russia-interfered-to-help-Trump narrative, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard stated, "President Obama and his national security Cabinet members manufactured and politicized intelligence to lay the groundwork for what was essentially a years-long coup against President Trump."
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And the Hunter Biden laptop story was not only true, but it also revealed President Joe Biden clearly lied when he denied knowing anything about his son's overseas business dealings.
In a 2017 interview with Variety, Reiner described Trump as "mentally unfit" to serve as commander in chief and called him the "single most unqualified human being to ever assume the presidency of the United States."
In another interview, Reiner said: "I'm going to tell you the truth. You have a complete and utter lying buffoon. He's a fraud. He lies. He cheats people. Everything that comes out of his mouth virtually is a lie. And he's a con man. And if you look at what he's done with his career and how he's tricked people into things, it's abhorrent. I never liked George W. Bush, his polices, but I didn't hate the guy. I hate this man."
Reiner has been a continuous "one-stop shop" for anti-Trump insults:
"Not only does he not understand how government works. He has no interest in trying to find out how it works."
"You have one candidate, Trump, who actually tells you he's going to govern like an authoritarian."
"Do we want fascism, or do we want to continue the 248 years of self-rule? Do we want to continue democracy, or do we want to slip into fascism?"
"He wants to destroy the Constitution, go after his political enemies, and turn America into an autocracy? We see autocracy making its move around the world. And, so, if we crumble, there's a danger that democracy crumbles around the world."
"It's really gotten to a very, very scary place in this country..."
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) struck the right tone when asked about Trump's condemnation of Reiner. Kennedy said, "A wise man once said nothing. Why? Because he was a wise man. I think President Trump should have said nothing."
Agreed. It appears Reiner made no public comment about the Butler, Pennsylvania, assassination attempt against Trump.
But saying, as Trump did about Reiner, "I'm not a fan," is a far cry from saying he "hates" him, as Reiner said about Trump. The question is whether it is fair and reasonable for Trump to show grace to someone who never offered the slightest bit of it to him.
Larry Elder is a bestselling author and nationally syndicated radio talk-show host. To find out more about Larry Elder, or become an "Elderado," visit www.LarryElder.com.
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