Rob Reiner, a filmmaker known for his political activism, addressed recent claims about his reaction to President Joe Biden’s debate performance during an appearance on CNN. The discussion centered on an account from Vice President Kamala Harris’s new book, which describes a heated moment at a watch party attended by Hollywood donors and political figures.
According to the book, Reiner allegedly shouted at Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Harris, blaming him for what he saw as the potential loss of democracy following Biden’s debate showing. The passage quotes Reiner as saying, “we are going to lose our effing democracy and it’s your fault.”
When asked by CNN anchor Kasie Hunt if this incident happened as described, Reiner denied singling out Emhoff. He clarified that the event was not limited to Hollywood attendees but included politicians such as J.B. Pritzker, Andy Beshear, and Gretchen Whitmer. “No, it didn’t happen that way. I was upset, along with everybody in that room, including J.B. Pritzker and Andy Beshear and Gretchen Whitmer. They were all at this gathering. It wasn’t just Hollywood people. It was a political gathering. And we were all appalled by the debate performance by Joe Biden,” Reiner said.
He went on to explain his reaction: “And I screamed out those words, the F word. I threw it out there. And I said, we’re effing dead. You know, to me, it was like, put a nail in the coffin. We were dead. I was screaming at everybody. And yes, I used the F word many times in that rant.”
A video clip of Reiner’s comments aired on CNN’s program “The Arena,” where he reiterated his version of events: “.@ActualRobReiner denies that he ever yelled at Doug Emhoff after watching President Biden’s debate performance, as reported in Kamala Harris’ new book: ‘No, it didn’t happen that way… I was screaming at everybody, and yes, I used the F word many times in that rant.'”
The incident highlights ongoing tensions within Democratic circles regarding public perceptions of party leadership following high-profile events.
