In a week defined by a staggering accumulation of tragedy, from a terrorist massacre in Sydney to a campus shooting at an Ivy League university, the American media landscape has been further roiled by a bitter exchange between late-night television and the Oval Office. On Monday night, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel devoted a significant portion of his broadcast to a searing indictment of President Donald Trump. Kimmel’s ire was sparked by the President’s reaction to the violent deaths of legendary filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer, who were found murdered in their Brentwood home this past Sunday.
The Rhetoric of “Derangement”
The controversy began Monday morning when the President took to Truth Social, not to offer a traditional eulogy for a titan of the film industry, but to frame Reiner’s death through the lens of political grievance. In a post that Kimmel described as “hateful and vile,” Trump alleged that Reiner had passed away “due to the anger he caused others” through what he termed “Trump Derangement Syndrome” (TDS).
The President’s post characterized the director of A Few Good Men and When Harry Met Sally… as a “tortured and struggling” figure whose “raging obsession” with the current administration had reached “new heights of paranoia.”
“What we need at a time like this, besides common sense when it comes to guns and mental health care, is compassion and leadership,” Kimmel told his audience. “We did not get that from our president, because he has none of it to give. Instead, we got a fool rambling about nonsense.”
The Oval Office Doubledown
The friction escalated later on Monday during an Oval Office press conference. Given the opportunity to temper his remarks or offer condolences to the Reiner family, the President instead doubled down on his critique.
“I wasn’t a fan of his at all,” Trump told reporters, dismissing Reiner as a “deranged person” and a perpetrator of the “Russia hoax.” The President further suggested that Reiner’s political activism had “hurt himself career-wise” and concluded that the filmmaker was “very bad for our country.”
Kimmel’s response was visceral. “That corroded brain is in charge of our lives,” the host remarked, urging his viewers to reconsider their political allegiances in light of the President’s comments. He added that, based on his personal friendship with Reiner, the director would have wanted the public to continue “pointing out the loathsome atrocities” emerging from the administration.
A Somber Night for Late-Night
Kimmel was not alone in addressing the somber mood of the country. Over at CBS, Stephen Colbert broke from his traditional comedic “cold open” to address what he described as “sacred ground”—the intersection of multiple national and international tragedies.
“All of the major stories are too dark for that,” a visible somber Colbert said, citing the “Hanukkah massacre” at Bondi Beach in Sydney, the shootings at Brown University, and the “heartbreaking deaths” of the Reiners. “We are going to do a comedy show tonight, in light of and in spite of the darkness.”
The Investigation into the Brentwood Homicide
While the political firestorm rages, the reality of the crime itself remains devastating. Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer, 70, were discovered stabbed to death on Sunday afternoon. Reiner’s legacy as a “Meathead” on All in the Family and his subsequent transformation into one of Hollywood’s most respected directors had made him a pillar of the creative community for over half a century.
The tragedy took a further dark turn when the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department confirmed the arrest of the couple’s son, Nick Reiner, 32. He was booked Monday morning on suspicion of murder.
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, speaking at a Monday press briefing, confirmed the arrest and described the incident as “very, very tragic.” While formal charges have not yet been filed, investigators are expected to submit the case to the District Attorney’s office for filing on Tuesday.
