With Donald Trump recently sending 300 California National Guard troops to Oregon, Rob Reiner is using his platform to warn that democracy is at risk.
The Oscar nominee pleaded that it’s “our job now” as storytellers in Hollywood to call attention to recent attacks on free speech and militarization of major cities, as well as Trump’s attempt to “commandeer the election” through voter gerrymandering ahead of the 2026 midterms.
“It’s beyond McCarthy era-esque. That feels quaint compared to what’s going on in America right now,” Reiner told MSNBC before referencing Jane Fonda‘s recent relaunch of her father Henry’s Committee for the First Amendment, originally started in response to the McCarthy Era.
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Reiner added, “The Hollywood community is very much aware of their First Amendment rights being infringed. We saw what happened to Jimmy Kimmel. So, we’re well aware of what’s happening. But our job now, as communicators, is to start communicating to the rest of the country, to let them know what is going to happen to them.
“The two big things that an autocrat needs, they need control of the media, which is what they’re trying to do,” he explained, citing Apple TV+ postponing The Savant‘s release in response to Charlie Kirk’s assassination, plus Kimmel’s recent suspension from his late-night post amid apparent pressure from the FCC.
“And they need military control of the streets, and that’s the other thing that we’re seeing,” cautioned Reiner. “So, we’re in it right now, and we’re sliding downhill in a very, very fast way. And we have to find a way to stop it.”
On Sunday, Gov. Gavin Newsom called out Trump for his “breathtaking abuse of the law and power” after POTUS deployed 300 California National Guard troops to Oregon, in addition to boots on the ground in Chicago.
“This is just the beginning. And people have to understand, our democracy is being taken away from us, and we only have about a year, just to be clear about this,” said Reiner.
“Make no mistake; we have a year before this country becomes a full-on autocracy, and democracy completely leaves us,” he continued. “And we’re looking at the election in 2026, and Donald Trump knows that in a free and fair election, he will lose. He will lose the House, the House will flip and will become in Democratic hands. There will be committee chairs who will be able to hold meetings, and this is the last thing he wants.”
Reiner added, “We have to make the public absolutely aware that their democracy is being taken away from them, and we have to do everything we can to make sure people understand that.”