Jack White has called out US President Donald Trump for his bizarre, self-serving and hugely insensitive response to the tragic murder of film director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer.
As tributes poured in for the much-loved film-maker - whose credits include This Is Spinal Tap, When Harry Met Sally, Misery, Stand By Me and A Few Good Men, Trump shared his thoughts on the killings on his own Truth Social platform. and couldn't resist trying to exploit the tragedy to score political points, boost his own ego, and implied that, due to the director criticising his Presidency in the past, he may have somehow provoked a reaction from persons unknown. [This was before news emerged that Reiner's son Nick had been arrested in connection with the kilings]
The couple, he wrote, had "passed away", due to “the anger he [Reiner] caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME... He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump."
Asked a member of the press if this was an appropriate response to a double murder, Trump chose not to retract his statement, and said that Reiner was "very bad for our country".
Jack White was clearly incensed by Trump's comments.
“Trump you disgusting, vile, egomaniac loser, child,” he posted. “Neither he nor any one of his followers can defend this gross, horrible insult to a beautiful artist who gave the world so much. To use someone’s tragic death to promote your own vanity and fascist authoritarian agenda is a corrupt and narcissistic sin. Shame on you trump and anyone who defends this.
"God bless you Rob Reiner and thank you for what you gave the world," White concluded. "I never even met you and I still stand by you."
Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick was among the musicians who expressed support for White's statement.
"It’s no longer a 'political disagreement'," he commented. "What this man has done to society as the same as he has done to the East Wing (demolished it). To point this out is not being “political” it’s being human. I’m done with anyone who’s so under his spell they can’t even draw a line with this."
This is not the first time that White has criticised the US President. One such attack led White House Communications Director Steven Cheung to describe the musician as "a washed-up, has-been loser'.
"It’s apparent he’s been masquerading as a real artist, because he fails to appreciate, and quite frankly disrespects, the splendour and significance of the Oval Office inside of ‘The People’s House.'"
White responded with an Instagram carousel calling Trump "an orange grifter", a "conman", a "low-life fascist", a "bankrupter of casinos" and a "professional golf cheat," among other insults.
