WASHINGTON – It would be a serious error to assume that the despicable comments issued by President-cum-Dictator Donald J. Trump in wake of the violent deaths of Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michelle, this week will somehow deprive the Lord of Mar-a-Lago and his bumpkin followers from holding on to the moral high ground.
Truth be told, despite all the hosannas, idolatry and calls to the heavens above extolling Trump as the great savior of all that’s holy, Trump and his dewy-eyed troops have never come within shouting distance of the moral high ground. If Everest symbolizes the peak of morality, Donny and the gang are hanging out in a Dead Sea of indecency, making a mockery of grace and all that is good.
This is America under Donald J. Trump. And unless there is a grand reawakening, and an acknowledgement that the nation is not living up to its obligations or promise under this man, America itself is in jeopardy.
For those who have not experienced Trump’s comments, take a gander:
“A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood. 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.
“He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before.
“May Rob and Michele rest in peace!”
Those are the loathsome words of the president of the United States. It’s not the first time he’s uttered such bilge. But more than 70 million people voted for him last year, opting for a pig who was unworthy of the job rather than risk handing the reins over to a Black woman. Now we’re all going to be paying the price over the next three years and change.
And there are still folks who support him to the hilt. Some nutjob Republican congressman from outside Dayton, Ohio, Warren Davidson, has introduced legislation titled the TDS Research Act of 2025, which, if passed, would “direct the director of the National Institutes of Health to conduct or support research to advance the understanding of Trump Derangement Syndrome, and for other purposes.”
No. This is not a joke.
“TDS has divided families, the country, and led to nationwide violence — including two assassination attempts on President Trump,’’ Davidson said. “The TDS Research Act would require the NIH to study this toxic state of mind, so we can understand the root cause and identify solutions.”
To start, the individual suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome is Trump himself, as proved through his own words. The man is deranged, as evidenced by his often-incoherent speeches, his sociopathic tendencies to seek revenge on all who disagree with him, his openly fascist propensities, his lie after lie and his open antagonism toward a large portion of the American population – the very people he’s supposed to represent.
The man is a menace who has earned every word of disapprobation dispatched in his general direction. In addition to his sniveling comments, his unwarranted attacks, his general lack of decency, his unrepentant racism and misogyny, and initiatives like endeavoring to start a war with Venezuela, of all places, it would be downright unAmerican not to voice a searing contempt for all he says, does and stands for.
This idea that people who understandably scorn him, who think he is a global and domestic threat, are not the ones with some sort of syndrome. They are reacting to the evidence at hand. It’s the president-cum-dictator who is best described as deranged and the voters in 2025 gave Trump a second chance at the presidency knowing that the nation could possibly be brought to its knees.
Those who are speaking up, and there are still very few on the Republican side, pay a price, political and personal. He is using the Justice Department to silence his detractors and persecute those who have questioned his actions in the past.
Is this really the America people want? If so, God help us all.
It’s time, past time really, to give credit where credit is due. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-SomewhereorotherLewisCounty, generally supports Trump’s domestic programs as evidenced by his voting record. But he’s not afraid to stand up on principle. The latest example is his comment about Trump’s unhinged statement about the Reiners.
“Regardless of how you felt about Rob Reiner, this is inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered,’’ Massie said on X. “I guess my elected GOP colleagues, the VP, and White House staff will just ignore it because they’re afraid? I challenge anyone to defend it.’’
Massie later added, “Rob Reiner and his wife were tragically killed at the hands of their own son, who reportedly had drug addiction and other issues, and their remaining children are left in serious mourning and heartbreak. This is a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies. Many families deal with a family member with drug addiction and mental health issues. It’s incredibly difficult and should be met with empathy especially when it ends in murder.’’
Compare that to the words of the president of the United States who, given an opportunity to explain his daft statement, doubled down, asserting that Reiner was “a deranged person.’’
“So I was not a fan of Rob Reiner at all in any way, shape or form,’’ he told reporters. “I thought he was very bad for our country.’’
Massie is already paying a price. He voted against Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, an unwarranted tax cut, which he noted added considerably to the nation’s debt, which now stands at $38 trillion. He proved unrelenting in seeking the release of the Epstein files, documents pertaining to the activities of Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender with friends, including Trump at one time, in high places.
Both matters were directly opposed by Trump who reacted by advocating for Massie’s defeat in next year’s Republican primary for the seat he currently holds, vowing to bankroll an opponent and spending scads of money to run attack ads seeking to cost him politically.
Then there was his comment about Massie remarrying a few months ago following the terribly sad and unexpected death of his wife, Rhonda, at age 51, last year.
“Did Thomas Massie, sometimes referred to as Rand Paul Jr., because of the fact that he always votes against the Republican Party, get married already???’’ Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Boy, that was quick! No wonder the Polls have him at less than an 8% chance of winning the Election. Anyway, have a great life Thomas and (?). His wife will soon find out that she’s stuck with a LOSER!”
Massie, to his credit, brushed off the nonsense, telling interviewer Andrew Cooperrider, “He’s attacking me to keep the rest of the conservatives in line… and so far, it’s working.”
Now Massie is helping lead the fight against Trump’s Venezuela incursion, sponsoring a measure directing Trump to follow the War Powers Act and seek congressional authorization before proceeding militarily against that South American nation.
“Previous presidents told us to go to war over WMDs (weapons of mass destruction) that did not exist,’’ Massie said in a floor speech. “Now it’s the same playbook. Except we’re told that drugs are the WMDs… This is about oil and regime change.’’
Understand, Massie makes it damn near impossible to embrace him politically. He wants to kill Obamacare, is absolutely crazy on the issue of guns and wants to address the debt without raising taxes, which is nearly impossible to do. There are other things. But in exposing the horror Trump is wrecking upon this country, he’s showing political courage and an ability to stand up for what’s right, something most of his colleagues, including the other Republican members of the Kentucky congressional delegation, are unwilling to do.