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Watch now   Important Monday News Updates - 12/15/25 A new week begins after a weekend of tragedy Ben Meiselas and MeidasTouch Network Dec 15 By Ben Meiselas The news that filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, had been murdered was horrifying enough on its own. The emerging details, that the primary suspect was their son, Nick Reiner, who has struggled with addiction, made it a tragedy layered with grief, complexity, and heartbreak. In moments like these, Americans traditionally look to the president not for commentary, but for compassion. What we received instead from Donald Trump was something far darker. This morning, Trump published a post mocking Rob Reiner’s death. He did not merely withhold condolences. He weaponized the moment. In a statement that defies decency, Trump claimed Reiner died “reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.” He concluded with a hollow “May Rob and Michelle rest in peace,” after spending the post demeaning the victims and glorifying himself. Vile. Reprehensible. Evil. These words somehow are not enough to describe Trump’s comments. Even worse — his post was amplified by the White House across their official accounts. They were proud of the remarks. The response from across the country was swift and unequivocal. California Governor Gavin Newsom called Trump “a sick man.” Franklin Leonard, founder of The Black List, wrote that every time he sees something “this far beyond the pale,” he thinks it cannot possibly be real, and “every time I’m wrong.” Neera Tanden observed that “we have never had a person of worse character as president of the United States.” These reactions were not partisan outrage. They were moral judgments. What made Trump’s post especially grotesque was not just its content, but the contrast it revealed. When Charlie Kirk was murdered earlier this year, Rob Reiner responded with humanity. “Horror. Absolute horror,” Reiner said at the time. “I don’t care what your political beliefs are. That should never happen to anybody.” He spoke about forgiveness, empathy, and the moral obligation to reject violence entirely. That is what leadership looks like in grief. Trump chose the opposite path. Predictably, much of the MAGA media ecosystem rushed to deny what everyone could plainly see. Influencers insisted conservatives were not celebrating Reiner’s death. Others claimed Trump was simply being “honest” and should not be expected to eulogize his critics. But this was not about political disagreement. It was about the basic standards of human decency expected of a president. Trump was not dragged into this moment. He charged into it. Thankfully, more mainstream Republican figures have begun to speak out against Trump’s abhorrent remarks, and even many replies to Trump on his Truth Social website show his own followers aghast. But this episode was just one moment of chaos amongst a flood originating from Donald Trump. He made other inflammatory and misleading posts in recent days, including renewed attacks on former President Joe Biden, false claims about the economy, and promotions of his so-called “Trump Card,” a scheme offering U.S. residency to wealthy foreign nationals for $5 million. It also unfolded as his administration faced mounting scrutiny, from the impending release of the Epstein files to revelations that the FBI, under Trump and Kash Patel, botched a major investigation related to the Brown University shooting in Rhode Island by identifying the wrong suspect. The pattern is familiar. When accountability looms, Trump escalates the chaos. He distracts. He attacks. He dehumanizes. Even in moments of national mourning, Trump cannot, or will not, act as consoler in chief. As Andrew Weinstein wrote, one of a president’s most sacred duties is to help shoulder the nation’s grief. Trump instead deepens it. His response to the recent shooting at Brown University was a shrugging “things can happen,” a phrase that encapsulates his approach to violence, tragedy, and responsibility. Meanwhile, figures in his orbit continue to pour fuel on the fire. JD Vance recently claimed that judges in “deep blue areas” are the biggest obstacle to prosecuting violent extremists, accusing them of tolerating violence by “leftists.” It was another baseless, divisive claim, untethered from facts and designed to fracture rather than unify. None of this is accidental. It reflects a worldview in which empathy is weakness, cruelty is strength, and power is exercised through humiliation. Trump’s post about Rob Reiner was not merely offensive. It was yet another sign that shows how far the moral center of our politics has eroded. We are better when we reject political violence unequivocally, when we grieve together without conditions, and when our leaders understand that compassion is not performative. It is essential. Empathy is not weakness, like those in MAGA like to say. It is a superpower. A president who cannot summon basic humanity in the face of murder is not merely failing the moment. He is failing the country. I’d like to extend my deepest condolences to the Reiner family during this this unthinkable tragedy, to the American soldiers who were ambushed and killed in Syria, to the individuals who lost their lives in the school shooting at Brown University, and to those at Bondi Beach in Australia who were gunned down during a Hanukkah celebration. And I’d like to send my gratitude to Ahmed Al Ahmed, the 43-year-old fruit shop owner who was filmed disarming one of the Bondi Beach gunmen during the attack — the one sliver of light during a very dark few days, reminding us what humanity looks like. Thank you for your support and for staying engaged. We’re all in this together. Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. 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JUST A FEW COMMENTS: 

When people have dementia, their brakes come off. Trump is a sick and broken man. But the people that are really vile are the ones that keep pulling his puppet strings, knowing that he is incapable of doing the job.

well then he has had dimentia his entire life.

He’s always been an evil man. He’s now delusional and evil.

Remember when he put a full page ad pleading

Remember when he put a full age ad demanding

the death penalty of the Central Park Five

Who later were found to be INNOCENT

Yes. The action of a sociopath.

Sociopath and psychopath

Narcissistic personality disorder to the max

Maybe so. I also may be operating on an earlier DSM edition, come to think of it. I am not sure if these terms are actually still A Thing! I'm out here cranking about chewing bark for "ague" and others are talking about new ideas about the benefits of fevers under 102! Alas, there's reason for elders to butt out of discussions involving New Tech! LOL

I think you are exactly right and I'm adding 'psychopath' to my opinion of his behavior. I looked it up, more modern up-to-date definition and kept wondering 'why does he seem both? ' --Ah, Grasshopper! You begin to see!! He has clear features of both. Maybe we've just never seen one of him up close before...

And then refused to apologize.

Apologizing is against his insecure nature

That means he was wrong

Can you imagine him admitting he was wrong

Overcompensation for his insecurity is his hallmark

He was taught by Roy Cohn to never apologize and never admit your wrong.

I see , his infamous teacher, assistant to the infamous McCarthy

Yes-- and, he was raised by a Klan father, but seems to use gas connections with diverse people as it suits. And he has a 'mob' layer too, with his 'apprenticeship' to Roy Cohn'. But he seems to have taught Trump about 'use of lawsuits' amongst other things. Well. There are several books that detail his history, I've only read the first book his niece wrote.

I have read two books about his family history. He was born with a broken brain.

The Central Park 5 served 7 years in prison before someone else confessed - then there was another 7 years before a compensation settlement was reached. And THEN trump complained that they hadn't really been found "innocent" and that the settlement was a "heist."

A true b___tard

Agreed. He’s been a mean son of a bitch as far back as I can remember. Back to his NYC days.'

His father told him that in order to get what he wants, he had to be a killer. That he is!

That would not surprise me. There was a Substack writer that explained what the conman’s grandfather and father were like. Apparently they weren’t very nice men. I wonder what his mother was like. I would be so embarrassed to have a son or daughter that is as mean spirited and evil as the orange conman.

His mother was a very sickly person therefore he didn't get the motherly love or attention he needed from her. He'd go to his father who basically didn't want to be bothered with him as a child.

That explains how he became such a horrible person.

Read his niece's first book about him, their family, and her memories of being at their house. His mother was in the hospital for long periods with a difficult pregnancy (his younger brother). Little Trump, a toddler on his own, with a daytime housekeeper sort of looked after him, apparently; and whose older sister and brothers were at school, Dad away at work. But no mother. no hired nanny. His siblings were his playmates/carers as a toddler. Who was there to teach him that objects don't have feelings but people and animals do? If one isn't born a sociopath, that would seem to be the way to make one. His mother returned, soon was busy with a new baby; who knows what opportunities --to learn empathy, emotional self-regulation, all the rudiments of socialization --were lost? I'm sure military school didn't answer what was missing either.

Many people have much more horrible childhoods than this explanation, and they used those memories and experiences to make this world a better place. Once a child becomes an adult, he or she is responsible for his or her own behaviors.

He had greater opportunities to heal himself, plenty of money for therapy; but he didn't want it. He discovered he liked harming others, being cruel, demeaning others and he could get away with almost anything. His childhood is an explanation, but it is not an excuse, imo.

For the record, I'm not commenting in order to provide "an excuse" for Trump's toxic behavior. If anything, I search for what could go so wrong as to produce ANYone with absolutely NO empathy for other human beings. I'm not satisfied with blaming "evil" or "too much privilege" or some curious idea of "what's fair in Life." We won't ever know, probably, a complete explanation. As a mother and grandmother I know how crucial it is to provide love, responsiveness, guidance, encouragement, good example, education, and reasonable consistency in raising our next generations. Likewise it is pretty clear that ignoring a child, because of whatever reason, is going to handicap him in some ways probably for life. It MATTERS what we do with what we see. Trump is of course responsible for himself. But we gave him enormous power DESPITE what he told us about himself the first day. He didn't make himself president. Our electorate chose him (I think). We didn't pay attention to behavior past and present. We aspire as a nation to give a home to "huddled masses yearning to breathe free" and then revile them, expect them to cope with no help. Look at FDR, then DJT. Both sons of privilege, one had compassion for humanity, the other, compassion only for himself. The signs were all there, lit up. We ignored them. WE have no excuse.

I understand what you wrote, but I reject the "We ignored them" statement. I'm sorry to have used the "excuse". However, I'm sure I'm coming from a much different direction than you, as much of my education and my adult life was spent helping children that were harmed usually by their guardians/parents/grandparent/uncle.

I've worked with adults who were physically, sexually and emotionally abused by their parent(s)/guardians when they were children, as well as with children ranging in age from 2 to 17 years of age that were recently assaulted, or recently told. Some of these children were harmed so badly that the harm was permanent. (i.e. loss of feet after being dipped into boiling water for crying too much).

These are adults who survived the worst of the worst and turned their lives around to become helpful, loving, empathetic human beings. Most of them didn't have a privileged upbringing, money for counseling, or anyone to help them. We were lucky that we could help the victims for as long as they needed, due to grant money. Too bad that money is drying or has dried up.

Actually, and interestingly, I think we are coming from very similar directions regarding our work and sensibilities. My experience (from social worker in adult & family agency to long-term care nursing homes/med. rehab.) included people of all ages and generations who had to negotiate physical, mental, emotional, personal challenges, and wars, including the state-sponsored, life-long unspeakable trauma of the Holocaust. Perpetrators and angels alike defied anyone's presumptions. Like you, I suspect, I learned that each of these --child to adult-- is a separate, unique and heroic person. The pivot from suffering for each seemed to be someone who could stand with them in emotional support. We humans each run the gamut of possibilities, try to find answers about cause and remedy; but hope and resilience in meantime is what we all can access and use. Those with means can be as ignorant of the help available, as anyone. It doesn't answer the question of why they too are in need of help. It's not the money; that is only an object., no? They might even be contributing to good causes, unaware that they might help themselves. You are right that helping anyone is also a reciprocal, societal, trust, and that our country is now unconscionable leaving people without access to help. We must stand up to advocate for restoration of grants and health insurance. That's something we can do.