'Bad for our country.' Trump doubles down on attack of late Rob Reiner; USA TODAY, December 15, 2025

 Joey Garrison, USA TODAY; 'Bad for our country.' Trump doubles down on attack of late Rob Reiner

"President Donald Trump doubled down on his widely criticized attack of the late film director Rob Reiner, expressing no regret nor offering an apology for comments that even some Republican supporters have since denounced.

"I thought he was very bad for our country," Trump said on Dec. 15 when asked whether he stands by his social media post about Reiner from earlier in the day."

MAGA breaks with Trump on mocking Rob Reiner's killing; Axios, December 15, 2025

 Tal Axelrod, Axios ; MAGA breaks with Trump on mocking Rob Reiner's killing

"President Trump torpedoed MAGA influencers' calls for compassion after the killing of director Rob Reiner, mocking the longtime liberal activist as a victim of "Trump derangement syndrome."

Why it matters: Many MAGA influencers vowed after the assassination of Charlie Kirk that they would never celebrate or mock the untimely death of a political opponent. 

• Trump abandoned that moral high ground the morning after Reiner and his wife were found dead in their Los Angeles home — drawing rare criticism from his Republican allies.
• 
  

What they're saying: "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," Trump posted on Truth Social Monday.

• "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."

Driving the news: When news initially emerged of Reiner's death Sunday night, many MAGA voices expressed sympathy and drew direct comparisons to Kirk's assassination.

• "You won't see people on the right celebrating the horrific murder of Rob Reiner and his wife. Compare to the Left's reaction to Charlie Kirk's murder," MAGA podcaster Jack Posobiec posted Sunday night.
• 
  
• Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet tweeted a clip of Reiner responding "with grace and compassion" to Kirk's assassination: "This video makes it all the more painful to hear of he and his wife's tragic end. May God be close to the broken hearted in this terrible story."
• 
  

After Trump's incendiary post, several Republicans criticized the president for politicizing the apparent murder. Reiner's son Nick has been arrested in connection with the death of his parents.

• "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," Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a Trump ally-turned-critic, wrote Monday.
• 
  
• "A man and his wife were murdered last night. This is NOT the appropriate response. The Right uniformly condemned political and celebratory responses to Charlie Kirk's death. This is a horrible example from Trump (and surprising considering the two attempts on his own life) and should be condemned by everyone with any decency," added Trump's former lawyer Jenna Ellis."

AI videos of dead celebrities are horrifying many of their families; The Washington Post, October 11, 2025

 

Tatum Hunter

 and 

Drew Harwell

, The Washington Post; AI videos of dead celebrities are horrifying many of their families

[Kip Currier: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's reckless actions in releasing Sora 2.0 without guardrails and accountability mechanisms exemplify Big Tech's ongoing Zuckerberg-ian "Move Fast and Break Things" modus operandi in the AI Age. 

Altman also had to recently walk back his ill-conceived directive that copyright holders would need to opt-out of having their copyrighted works used as AI training data (yet again!), rather than the burden being on OpenAI to secure their opt-ins through licensing.

To learn more about potential further copyright-related questionable conduct by OpenAI, read this 10/10/25 Bloomberg Law article:  OpenAI Risks Billions as Court Weighs Privilege in Copyright Row]

[Excerpt]

"OpenAI said the text-to-video tool would depict real people only with their consent. But it exempted “historical figures” from these limits during its launch last week, allowing anyone to make fake videos resurrecting public figures, including activists, celebrities and political leaders — and leaving some of their relatives horrified.

“It is deeply disrespectful and hurtful to see my father’s image used in such a cavalier and insensitive manner when he dedicated his life to truth,” Shabazz, whose father was assassinated in front of her in 1965 when she was 2, told The Washington Post. She questioned why the developers were not acting “with the same morality, conscience, and care … that they’d want for their own families.”

Sora’s videos have sparked agitation and disgust from many of the depicted celebrities’ loved ones, including actor Robin Williams’s daughter, Zelda Williams, who pleaded in an Instagram post recently for people to “stop sending me AI videos of dad.”"

DHS references Mexican IndyCar driver to promote ‘Speedway Slammer’ detention center; The Guardian, August 7, 2025

 Agencies , The Guardian; DHS references Mexican IndyCar driver to promote ‘Speedway Slammer’ detention center

[Kip Currier: Not only is this statement by a DHS spokesperson factually inaccurate, as there's a cogent argument these actions by DHS may negatively impact trademark rights (and rights of publicity) -- “An AI generated image of a car with ‘ICE’ on the side does not violate anyone’s intellectual property rights" -- it's also morally offensive to either recklessly or intentionally appropriate without permission the racing number of one of the top Mexican drivers for use in a DHS promotion that demeans human beings.]

[Excerpt]

"IndyCar driver Pato O’Ward and series officials were shocked by a social media post from the Department of Homeland Security that touts plans for an immigration detention center in Indiana dubbed “Speedway Slammer.” It includes a car with the same number as that of O’Ward, the only Mexican driver in the series.

“It caught a lot of people off guard. Definitely caught me off guard,” O’Ward said Wednesday. “I was just a little bit shocked at the coincidences of that and, you know, of what it means ... I don’t think it made a lot of people proud, to say the least.”

The post on Tuesday included an AI-generated image of a IndyCar-style vehicle with O’Ward’s No 5 that has “ICE” stamped on it. In the image, the car is in front of a jail...

“We were unaware of plans to incorporate our imagery as part of yesterday’s announcement,” IndyCar said in a statement Wednesday. “Consistent with our approach to public policy and political issues, we are communicating our preference that our IP not be utilized moving forward in relation to this matter.”

A DHS spokesperson said it would not change the social media post. “An AI generated image of a car with ‘ICE’ on the side does not violate anyone’s intellectual property rights. Any suggestion to the contrary is absurd,” the spokesperson said in statement. “DHS will continue promoting the ‘Speedway Slammer’ as a comprehensive and collaborative approach to combatting illegal immigration.”