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Trump doubles down on Reiner remarks despite Republican backlash
U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his criticism of filmmaker Rob Reiner on Tuesday, calling the late director a "deranged" figure days after Reiner and his wife were found dead in their Los Angeles home. The comments drew sharp rebukes from lawmakers in Trump's own party.
Arrest made in double homicide
Police arrested the couple's 32-year-old son, Nick Reiner, on suspicion of murder on Sunday. Authorities have not disclosed a motive or suggested any connection to Reiner's political activism. Rob Reiner, 78, and his wife Michele Singer Reiner, 68, were discovered dead at their residence.
Trump links deaths to political opposition
In a post on Truth Social, Trump described the deaths as "very sad" but added that Reiner had been "known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump." He later told reporters in the Oval Office that Reiner was "very bad for our country" and a "deranged person" who fueled allegations of collusion between Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia.
Trump also revived his term "Trump derangement syndrome" to explain Reiner's criticism, a phrase he frequently uses to dismiss opponents.
GOP lawmakers distance themselves from Trump's remarks
Several prominent Republicans condemned the president's comments. Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie, who has clashed with Trump since his return to office in January, called the remarks "inappropriate and disrespectful" and challenged fellow GOP members to defend them.
"Regardless of how you felt about Rob Reiner, this is inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered."
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY)
Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, once a staunch Trump ally, urged empathy, stating the murders were "a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies." Louisiana Senator John Kennedy suggested Trump should have remained silent, arguing the remarks undermined his policy achievements.
Reiner's history of Trump criticism
A lifelong Democrat and vocal liberal activist, Reiner frequently denounced Trump. In 2017, he called the then-president "mentally unfit" for office. As recently as October, Reiner warned that Trump was leading the U.S. toward "full-on autocracy."
Reiner directed iconic films such as This Is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, and A Few Good Men. He married Michele Singer Reiner, a photographer and producer, in 1989. The couple met during the filming of When Harry Met Sally and had three children together.
Trump's pattern of post-mortem criticism
Trump has a history of disparaging political opponents after their deaths. In 2019, he said he was "never a fan" of the late Senator John McCain, with whom he frequently clashed. That same year, he joked that former Democratic Representative John Dingell might be "looking up" from the grave-a remark the White House later dismissed as "just riffing."
