Berl Falbaum
I have written about Donald Trump for more than 10 years and every time he did or said something particularly grotesque, I would refer to a “new low.”
It happened so often that the last time, I simply cited his “Nth new low.” Well, now we will go to “N” to the second power.
I am, of course, referring to Trump’s statement following the heart-wrenching fatal stabbing deaths of Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, by, allegedly, their son, Nick.
I am hesitant to include his ugly statement here, but need to do so those who may not have read or heard what he said. I issue the warning similar to the ones used on TV: Readers’ discretion advised; it is not only disturbing, it is disgusting.
Said Trump:
“Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, 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, sometimes referred to as TDS.”
Asked later whether he stood by the comments, he doubled-down:
“Well, I wasn’t a fan of his at all. He was a deranged person as far as Trump is concerned. 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.”
This brings us to some backlash from Republicans. Some — incidentally, not all — called Trump’s statement “inappropriate, “unacceptable” and “disrespectful.”
Pardon me? Littering is inappropriate; jaywalking is unacceptable; whispering in a theater during a performance is disrespectful.
How about the following adjectives: repulsive, ugly, obscene, vulgar, gross, repugnant, heartless. Even those don’t seem to capture the inhumanity.
Republican Senator John Kennedy, of Louisiana, said Trump just should have said nothing while David Urban, a Trump senior advisor in 2016, worried about losing votes.
How much more compassionate can you be?
But let’s go back to some of the Trump’s “lows” I referred to earlier.
• In 2016, he mocked Gold Star parents whose son, a U.S. Army captain, was killed by a suicide bomber in the Iraq War. The mother, overcome with emotion at the microphone at the Democratic National Convention, remained silent, prompting the following Trumpism: “She had nothing to say. She probably, maybe she wasn’t allowed to have anything to say. You tell me.”
Addressing the sacrifice these parents made, he added: “I’ve made a lot of sacrifices, I work very, very hard. I’ve created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures.”
• In 2015, he criticized the late Arizona Senator John McCain who was a POW in Vietnam for 5 ½ years. He was seriously injured and tortured during his captivity. Said Trump, who evaded military service during the Vietnam War because of “bone spurs”:
“He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured, okay? I hate to tell you.”
After McCain died in 2018, the White House staff had prepared a statement commending McCain for his service, Trump refused to issue it. While flags over the White House were flown half-mast suddenly one day they were returned to full-mast before being lowered again. No one offered an explanation.
Seven months after McCain’s death, Trump still could not control himself, stating, “I gave him [McCain] the kind of funeral that he wanted, which as president I had to approve. I don’t care about this. I didn’t get [a] thank you. That’s OK. We sent him on the way, but I wasn’t a fan of John McCain.”
• In 2019, when Michigan Congressman John Dingell died, Trump suggested he might be “looking up” from Hell.
Of course, there is much more like mimicking a disabled reporter, and mocking Paul Pelosi, husband of former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who had his head bashed in with a hammer wielded by an intruder in the Pelosi home in California.
In 2023, Trump’s former chief of staff, John F. Kelly, confirmed previous reports that Trump called U.S. soldiers killed in wars, “losers and suckers… because there is nothing in it for them.”
Kelly added Trump did not want to be seen in the presence of military amputees because, “It doesn’t look good for me.”
More recently, the White House said Trump opposes signers next to him when he speaks because it “intrudes” on the image he wants to portray.
With three years to go, do not be surprised if Trump’s lows hit “N” to the 20th power or higher.
It happened so often that the last time, I simply cited his “Nth new low.” Well, now we will go to “N” to the second power.
I am, of course, referring to Trump’s statement following the heart-wrenching fatal stabbing deaths of Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, by, allegedly, their son, Nick.
I am hesitant to include his ugly statement here, but need to do so those who may not have read or heard what he said. I issue the warning similar to the ones used on TV: Readers’ discretion advised; it is not only disturbing, it is disgusting.
Said Trump:
“Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, 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, sometimes referred to as TDS.”
Asked later whether he stood by the comments, he doubled-down:
“Well, I wasn’t a fan of his at all. He was a deranged person as far as Trump is concerned. 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.”
This brings us to some backlash from Republicans. Some — incidentally, not all — called Trump’s statement “inappropriate, “unacceptable” and “disrespectful.”
Pardon me? Littering is inappropriate; jaywalking is unacceptable; whispering in a theater during a performance is disrespectful.
How about the following adjectives: repulsive, ugly, obscene, vulgar, gross, repugnant, heartless. Even those don’t seem to capture the inhumanity.
Republican Senator John Kennedy, of Louisiana, said Trump just should have said nothing while David Urban, a Trump senior advisor in 2016, worried about losing votes.
How much more compassionate can you be?
But let’s go back to some of the Trump’s “lows” I referred to earlier.
• In 2016, he mocked Gold Star parents whose son, a U.S. Army captain, was killed by a suicide bomber in the Iraq War. The mother, overcome with emotion at the microphone at the Democratic National Convention, remained silent, prompting the following Trumpism: “She had nothing to say. She probably, maybe she wasn’t allowed to have anything to say. You tell me.”
Addressing the sacrifice these parents made, he added: “I’ve made a lot of sacrifices, I work very, very hard. I’ve created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures.”
• In 2015, he criticized the late Arizona Senator John McCain who was a POW in Vietnam for 5 ½ years. He was seriously injured and tortured during his captivity. Said Trump, who evaded military service during the Vietnam War because of “bone spurs”:
“He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured, okay? I hate to tell you.”
After McCain died in 2018, the White House staff had prepared a statement commending McCain for his service, Trump refused to issue it. While flags over the White House were flown half-mast suddenly one day they were returned to full-mast before being lowered again. No one offered an explanation.
Seven months after McCain’s death, Trump still could not control himself, stating, “I gave him [McCain] the kind of funeral that he wanted, which as president I had to approve. I don’t care about this. I didn’t get [a] thank you. That’s OK. We sent him on the way, but I wasn’t a fan of John McCain.”
• In 2019, when Michigan Congressman John Dingell died, Trump suggested he might be “looking up” from Hell.
Of course, there is much more like mimicking a disabled reporter, and mocking Paul Pelosi, husband of former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who had his head bashed in with a hammer wielded by an intruder in the Pelosi home in California.
In 2023, Trump’s former chief of staff, John F. Kelly, confirmed previous reports that Trump called U.S. soldiers killed in wars, “losers and suckers… because there is nothing in it for them.”
Kelly added Trump did not want to be seen in the presence of military amputees because, “It doesn’t look good for me.”
More recently, the White House said Trump opposes signers next to him when he speaks because it “intrudes” on the image he wants to portray.
With three years to go, do not be surprised if Trump’s lows hit “N” to the 20th power or higher.
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