President Donald Trump was sharply criticized Monday for his comments about actor and director Rob Reiner and his wife after the couple were found dead in their California home.
The Reiners were found dead on Sunday afternoon. Their 32-year-old son, Nick Reiner, has been taken into custody, booked for murder and held with a $4 million bail, the Los Angeles County Sheriff shared Monday.
The president posted on TruthSocial about Reiner and his wife, Michele, who were outspoken critics of Trump. The post drew backlash from several congressional Republicans and some MAGA allies.
“A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood. Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS,” Trump said online.
“He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before,” he continued. “May Rob and Michele rest in peace!”
The post was sharply criticized by Democrats and some congressional Republicans, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Thomas Massie, R-Ky., Stephanie Bice, R-Okla., and Mike Lawler, R-N.Y.
Greene, who has become an outspoken critic of the president, said the Reiners’ deaths were tragic and their remaining children are “left in serious mourning and heartbreak.” She said it was a “family tragedy” that is “not about politics or political enemies.”
Massie, another Trump critic, said that regardless of how one views Reiner’s politics, Trump’s post was “inappropriate and disrespectful.” He challenged other Republicans to not defend the president’s post.
Bice said online that “a father and mother were murdered” and the country “should be lifting the family up in prayer, not making this about politics.” Similarly, Lawler said Trump’s post was “wrong” and that no one should be subjected to violence regardless of their political views.
“It’s a horrible tragedy that should engender sympathy and compassion from everyone in our country, period,” Lawler posted.
Trump doubled down on his criticism of Reiner during remarks Monday afternoon, noting that he wasn’t a fan of Reiner “at all.”
“He was a deranged person as far as Trump is concerned,” Trump told reporters, later adding, “I think he hurt himself career wise. He became a deranged person. Trump derangement syndrome. So I was not a fan of Rob Reiner at all in any way, shape or form. I thought he was very bad for our country.”
While Trump is not backing down on his criticism of Reiner and his wife, Hollywood dedicated tributes to the two entertainers.
Former first lady Michelle Obama, who appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on Monday evening, confirmed that she and her husband, former President Barack Obama, had plans to see the Reiners on Sunday night when they found out about their deaths.
Seemingly referencing Trump’s post, Obama said that “unlike some people, Rob and Michele Reiner are some of the most decent, courageous people you ever want to know.”
“They are not deranged or crazed; what they have always been are passionate people, in a time when there’s not a lot of courage going on. They were the kind of people who were ready to put their actions behind what they cared about,” she said. “They cared about their family, and they cared about this country, and they cared about fairness and equity. And that is the truth. I do know them.”
Nick Reiner is set to make his first court appearance on Tuesday in Los Angeles, where police are confidently saying he “is responsible” for the murders.
Los Angeles Police Department officers responded to a call for a death investigation to the Reiners’ home around 3:40 p.m. on Sunday. Officers discovered the two victims, identified as Rob and Michele Reiner. Police said the Reiners were victims of homicide and their son, Nick, was responsible. Nick Reiner was arrested at about 9:15 p.m. local time on Sunday.
The public is expected to find out what charges Nick Reiner is facing during his court appearance Tuesday.