Rob Reiner’s final on-screen appearance widely seen as jab at Trump

The late director Rob Reiner’s final on-screen appearance — a secret cameo as George Washington on Larry David’s new HBO sketch comedy series — is widely being interpreted as a parting shot at President Trump, even though the president is never named in the sketch.

Reiner’s turn as the nation’s first president was kept under wraps until the second episode of “Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness” aired Friday, timed to the Fourth of July weekend and the country’s 250th anniversary. Series director Jeff Schaffer told Variety that the timing was designed to give Reiner a “last laugh” against the president.

“It’s coming out on Fourth of July weekend, and if it in any way spoils a sad octogenarian’s weekend, then oh well,” Mr. Schaffer said.

Reiner, an outspoken critic of Mr. Trump, filmed the sketch on the Universal lot on Nov. 13, about a month before he and his wife, Michele, were killed inside their Brentwood, California, home. The couple’s son, Nick Reiner, was arrested and later charged with two counts of first-degree murder in their deaths; he has pleaded not guilty. Mr. Schaffer said he and Mr. David were still editing the sketch just two days before Reiner was killed.

In the episode, Reiner’s Washington delivers a speech announcing he will not seek a third term and noting that Congress has the power to bar future presidents from remaining in office indefinitely. Mr. David’s colonial character responds by asking what would happen if “some a—hole in office, some narcissistic pr-ck” refused to follow the Constitution. Mr. Reiner’s Washington answers by stressing the importance of a peaceful transfer of power, prompting Mr. David’s character to brand a hypothetical future president who could not accept an election loss a “sociopath” who would “even cheat at golf.”

Mr. David’s character goes on to accuse the hypothetical leader of using the presidency to enrich himself and his family and of sending troops into American cities “to terrorize and even kill American citizens” to distract from an unspecified friendship with “a pedophile.” Comedian Jimmy Kimmel also appears in the sketch as a fellow colonist, asking whether such a president “would taketh the time to challenge anyone who dare make fun of him.”

The scene escalates into shouting and physical scuffles among the colonists before Mr. Reiner’s Washington sighs, “We’re fucked.” The episode closes with an “In Memoriam” card honoring the actor and director, whose credits include “This Is Spinal Tap,” “Stand by Me,” “When Harry Met Sally…” and “A Few Good Men.”

Mr. Schaffer said the cameo was deliberately swapped out for a different sketch when the show’s first two episodes screened at a Los Angeles premiere, so as not to reveal Reiner’s appearance before its television debut.

“Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness” is executive produced by former President Barack Obama’s production company and is currently streaming on HBO Max.

Mr. Reiner also received a posthumous 2026 Emmy nomination this week for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for a separate role, playing restaurant consultant Albert Schnurr in the fourth season of FX’s “The Bear.” That performance predates the Washington cameo, which aired after Mr. Reiner’s death and is regarded by entertainment outlets as his final on-screen appearance.