Hollywood star Rob Reiner spent several days shaming supporters of third-party presidential candidates this week, saying — unironically, and apparently oblivious to the overwhelming irony — that the only way to defend “American democracy” is to vote for President Joe Biden.
This Tuesday, Reiner — famous for his ascent from acting in the TV sitcom All in the Family to directing hit films such as The Princess Bride — published a livid post about the 2024 presidential election on X/Twitter (now dubbed “Xwitter”), around 5:30 AM Malibu time. “A vote for No Labels is a vote for Trump,” Reiner declared. “A vote for Bobby Kennedy is a vote for Trump. A vote for Cornel West is a vote for Trump. A vote for Jill Stein is a vote for Trump. The only vote not for Trump is a vote for Biden.”
A vote for No Labels is a vote for Trump. A vote for Bobby Kennedy is a vote for Trump. A vote for Cornel West is a vote for Trump. A vote for Jill Stein is a vote for Trump. The only vote not for Trump is a vote for Biden.
— Rob Reiner (@robreiner) November 14, 2023
Three days later, apparently still stewing on the same subject, he wrote another, shorter missive: “If you vote for anyone but Joe Biden, you are voting to destroy American Democracy.”
If you vote for anyone but Joe Biden, you are voting to destroy American Democracy.
— Rob Reiner (@robreiner) November 17, 2023
The director’s fears are not consistently backed up by recent data. A Quinnipiac poll this month showed that in a hypothetical three-way race, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — who has dropped out of the Democratic primary and is running as an Independent — receives 22 percent of registered voters’ support, putting Biden three points over former President Donald Trump.
According to the poll of over 1,600 voters, Trump and Biden are in a satistical tie head-to-head at 46 percent and 47 percent support, respectively. However, with Kennedy in the mix, Biden loses eight points, dropping to 39 percent support, and Trump loses ten, dropping to 36 percent.
The same survey showed, in a hypothetical four-way race with the aforementioned candidates plus Green Party candidate Cornel West, Biden leads Trump overall by one point (Biden 36, Trump 35, Kennedy 19, West 6).
Reiner has been on a nakedly authoritarian streak since at least September, with another post saying Biden’s top challenger Trump “must” go to prison and all other candidates must be excluded from the 2024 race. The Hollywood producer — who has supported the faux-Republican Lincoln Project both publicly and financially — said that both of these (quite obviously) anti-democratic actions are necessary “for our democracy to survive.”
Hard Reality: For our Democracy to survive, two things have to happen. Donald Trump needs to be Convicted for Jan. 6th and there can be no Third Party Candidate.
— Rob Reiner (@robreiner) September 8, 2023
Reiner is currently promoting a podcast where he claims to have solved the mystery of John F. Kennedy’s assassination and a documentary about his longtime friend, comedian Albert Brooks.
The funniest man in the world.
— HBO Documentaries (@HBODocs) October 26, 2023
Albert Brooks: Defending My Life, an @HBO Original Documentary from Director @RobReiner about his best friend - comedian, actor, and filmmaker @AlbertBrooks - premieres November 11 on @StreamOnMax. #AlbertBrooksHBO pic.twitter.com/MBAyQPmqfU