Rob Reiner Made His Thoughts On Donald Trump Crystal Clear

Hollywood is grieving the death of "All in the Family" star Rob Reiner, after he and his wife were found stabbed to death in their Los Angeles home on Sunday, December 14, 2025. Friends and admirers have highlighted several attributes about the prolific filmmaker, most notably that he was outspoken about his stance on politics. "Misery" actor Kathy Bates told NBC that Reiner "fought courageously for his political beliefs." Similarly, Katie Couric listed "political activist" as one of the main identifiers of Reiner in an Instagram post commemorating his life. Indeed, not only did he champion LGBTQ+ rights and marriage equality, among other progressive causes, but Reiner was known for being passionately anti-Donald Trump. So much so that after his death, Trump himself slammed Reiner in a post on Truth Social, claiming that the Hollywood icon had a "massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS."

The "Princess Bride" director never shied away from making his feelings about Trump known. From the get-go, Reiner vehemently opposed the real estate tycoon's entrance into the White House. He endorsed Joe Biden during the former president's campaign against Trump in 2020. Even when he was calling for Biden to step down in the 2024 presidential race to make room for Kamala Harris, Reiner suggested that no matter what, he'd pick Biden over Trump. "We either can choose a good decent man who cares about his fellow citizens and knows how to govern, or a Convicted Felon who will destroy our Democracy," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter (via Newsweek). "Not a tough choice." It wasn't the first, and certainly not the last time Reiner publicly lambasted Trump.

Rob Reiner had no filter when it came to his efforts to keep Donald Trump out of office in 2016. During a May 2016 interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Reiner confirmed his support for then-Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and had some choice words for Trump supporters. The comedian compared the first-time politician to "a lunatic in a park on a soapbox," claiming that if Trump didn't have his celebrity status, no one would entertain his ideas. Reiner also said there were "a lot" of Trump voters who were racist. When the hosts refuted his argument, Reiner compared the Republican politician's rally crowd to those who attend Bernie Sanders events, saying of MAGA supporters, "You can see if somebody's got a tattoo ... with a swastika and stuff."

When Trump won the presidency, Reiner publicly aired his disappointment at a National Archives screening, calling "The Apprentice" alum's first term "the last big major battle of the Civil War" (via LAist). Reiner said that Trump's victory was a step backward in history, which had been moving forward since the Civil Rights movement in the 1970s. Similar to how he slammed the press for giving Trump so much airtime during the presidential race, Reiner called out "60 Minutes" host Lesley Stahl for spotlighting Trump on the broadcast. "I don't know if you saw Leslie Stahl [Sunday] night. It's embarrassing," he said. "It is embarrassing that somebody who has a national platform would softball this moron. He's a moron."

Rob Reiner was quick to share his thoughts on Donald Trump's first term as president. In a 2017 interview with Variety at the Dubai International Film Festival, Reiner called Trump "the single most unqualified human being to ever assume the presidency of the United States." The actor went on to say Trump was "mentally unfit" to run the government, and compared him to former President Lyndon B. Johnson, whose presidency he saw as the antithesis of Trump's, despite the "stain" that the Vietnam War left on his legacy.

Mental capacity was also the theme of a 2018 X post from Reiner, demanding the impeachment of the president. "Each day this mentally unstable man takes a step closer to destroying 242 yrs. of self rule. And though Democrats want to be restrained, impeachment is inevitable," he wrote on the platform (via The Hill). He also accused Trump of committing treason after his announcement that he would pull the military from Syria, claiming victory against ISIS. He also cited Trump's eyebrow-raising friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin — Reiner sat on the advisory board of the Committee to Investigate Russia. "He is aiding and abetting the enemy in The War against Isis and The Cyberwar against Russia," claimed Reiner in 2018.

Rob Reiner's Michael "Meathead" Stivic on "All in the Family" sharply opposed his on-screen father-in-law, the staunchly conservative and proud American Archie Bunker (played by Carroll O'Connor), on politics. But according to Reiner, even Archie would have shifted his views after the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol and would have discontinued his support of Donald Trump. In a 2022 interview with CNN's Jim Acosta, Reiner said, "I do think Archie would've been really upset to see cops beaten by insurgents, and then to find out as time goes by that Trump was ... at the hub of all this, and it was Trump's operation altogether, I think he would have gone the way of Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger."

As for his own views on the insurrection, Reiner called for Trump to face criminal consequences. "Every day that goes by without Donald Trump being indicted for leading a deadly insurrection to overthrow the United States government takes us one day closer to ending our democracy," he wrote on X, per NewsBusters. Trump was indicted on charges in 2023 for his actions after the 2020 election, including his conduct leading up to the Capitol riots. In response to the news, Reiner shared (via Wonderwall), "Indictment #2. Couldn't happen to a nicer Criminal. More to come. Fascism and Racism was just hit by a massive blow of Democracy."

According to Rob Reiner, the MAGA era surpassed the McCarthy era amid Donald Trump's crackdown on the media. In October, the "When Harry Met Sally" director told MSNBC's Ali Velshi that he believed the United States had one year before it became a "full-on autocracy." His remarks came on the heels of AppleTV+'s decision to postpone the release of the new thriller series, "The Savant," starring Jessica Chastain. The show, which is based on real-life political extremism, was pulled from the schedule just weeks after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated. While AppleTV+ did not explicitly cite a reason as to why they postponed the series' release, the media and critics argued that it had to do with the government's pressure on the entertainment industry. The situation read similarly to Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show suspension — which had everyone laying into Trump — and the cancellation of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

But Reiner didn't think Hollywood would be the only thing to be oppressed by Trump's agenda. "Don't be surprised when polling booths are surrounded by American military," he said of his predictions for the 2026 midterm elections. As he described in the beginning of the interview, "It's beyond McCarthy era-esque. That feels quaint compared to what's going on in America right now."

Rob Reiner was staunchly opposed to Donald Trump up until the end. If anything, his metaphors about Trump's government were getting more and more vivid and morose. In a September interview on The Daily Beast's podcast, "The Last Laugh," Reiner compared America's political climate to that of "Nazi Germany." "That is a very disturbing thing," he said, adding, "and make no mistake, this is where we are right now."

Reiner's advocacy for democracy has been recognized by a slew of Democratic leaders since his death. In a post on X, Barack Obama paid tribute to the late Golden Globe Award-winning director, writing, "Beneath all of the stories he produced was a deep belief in the goodness of people — and a lifelong commitment to putting that belief into action." Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and California Governor Gavin Newsom were among several other high-profile politicians who praised Reiner for his activism.