Late Hollywood icon Rob Reiner has made a surprise posthumous appearance in a final TV show where he pointedly pokes fun at President Donald Trump.
The acclaimed filmmaker – best known for his classic films The Princess Bride, Stand By Me and When Harry Met Sally – was killed alongside his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, 70, in December 2025, after allegedly being attacked by their son, Nick.
Reiner, 78, also had an extensive onscreen career, and one of his most recent shows was Disney Plus’ The Bear, in which he played a businessman, Albert Schnurr, in series four. When the show returned for a fifth series, a touching tribute was paid to the late star.
Now, Reiner is back on screens once again in one last performance on HBO sketch show, Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness, where his politically-charged role was purposefully kept secret until episode two’s release on Friday, July 3.
Reiner was an outspoken critic of President Trump, and his last TV role held no punches as he took aim at the controversial Republican politician.
After Reiner’s death, Trump, 80, was heavily criticised for his remarks on social media in which he called the legendary director ‘very bad for our country’ and declared that he had ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’.
However, director Jeff Schaffer told Variety that Reiner got the ‘last laugh’ as George Washington in his sketch show, which has been released in time for American Independence Day (and the US’s 250th anniversary).
He added: ‘It’s coming out on Fourth of July weekend, and if it in any way spoils a sad octogenarian’s weekend, then oh well!’
In the sketch, Washington declares he won’t run for a third term and will introduce legislation preventing any future presidents from trying either.
Larry David then asks: ‘Well, what if there’s some a**hole in office, some narcissistic p***k who doesn’t follow the Constitution?’
That kicks off a lengthy rant from Washington, who veers into calling any president unable to admit they lost an election a ‘sociopath’ and ‘insecure, lying asshole who would even cheat at golf.’
Both thinly-veiled references to Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was ‘rigged’ and his well-known love of golf.
The sketch – also featuring Jimmy Kimmel – then alludes to Trump’s links with Epstein, and as all the colonists in the sketch start descending into a shouting match, Washington declares: ‘We’re f***ed’.
The episode then features an in memoriam card.
The sketch, for which Reiner shaved his beard in order to physically resemble the first US president, was filmed in November last year.
Calling his sudden death ‘incredibly sad’, Schaffer shared they promptly decided to keep his cameo under wraps and agonised over the best way to air it – even omitting it from the premiere.
‘It just didn’t feel like the right way to show the world. We thought long and hard about where the sketch should air … and ultimately we decided that July 3 was the perfect time. Just let it come out on the Fourth of July weekend, on the 250th, and let it sink in that way,’ he said.
Reiner’s 32-year-old son is currently in prison facing two murder charges following the death of his parents for which he pleads not guilty.
He is awaiting trial, with his next preliminary hearing scheduled for September and has claimed he’s owed over $1million (£746k) in inheritance. It’s money he wants to use to hire a high-powered lawyer.