The holidays are upon us, and I’m exhausted. Not from the typical pressures of the season. No, I’m exhausted from being subject to a President who, just when any reasonable person wonders whether he can go any lower, seems to say, “hold my Diet Coke.” Exhibit A from this week (and it’s only Tuesday as I write this): Trump’s heinous response to the murder of Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele.

Apparently, Trump has never heard (or heeded) the wisdom of “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” He can’t resist a single opportunity to make an event, however horrific, about himself and the slew of trumped-up grievances that define his administration–even when such an event doesn’t comprise an “opportunity” by any standard familiar to morally functional individuals.

I hesitate to dignify Trump’s statement on the murder with a thoughtful analysis. But like I said, I’m tired, so my better judgment is compromised. So, without recounting unnecessary detail, I’ll say that this statement is outrageous on a whole new level–and for Trump, that’s saying something. If you feel like every week–or every day, for that matter–brings out new, demented lows from our leader, you’re not imagining it.

My consternation isn’t because Reiner was a beloved actor and director. And it’s not because I personally applaud Reiner as an outspoken critic of Trump. It’s because Trump’s statement casually sanctions murder as the cost of doing business in his America in a way he hasn’t articulated to date.

The statement does nothing to condemn murder. In fact, it characterizes Reiner’s death as “passing away,” as if he died peacefully in his sleep at 78 (when he and his wife were stabbed multiple times and their throats cut). The brutality inflicted on the Reiners was not characterized as a crime; it was presented as a justified and appropriate consequence of opposing Trump. The implication is that anyone critical of Trump is essentially marked for death. FAFO, as they say.

Worse, Trump’s statement was reposted by the official White House account, and here’s where things really get dark. For Trump the man (and the “brand”) to say what he said is one thing–we’ve come to expect it. But for the office of the Presidency to amplify the statement is another thing entirely. The lack of daylight between Trump and the office he holds is no surprise, but the effect is uniquely reprehensible and dangerous to all. Coming from the White House, cruel, ominous rhetoric becomes an instruction–even a mandate–for violence, not just an egregious opinion.

If there’s a Ghost of Christmas Present for each December 25th, I expect this year’s to be battered, enervated, and covered in blood. Perhaps it will be holding a single pencil and one doll for America’s children. And it will be the harbinger of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, 2026–a black-hooded reaper more grim than Dickens’ final ghost, an avatar of a morally bankrupt nation that shrugs off violence with numb resignation. Better watch out.

Eric Jackson-Forsberg is a Jamestown resident.