Trump defends his criticism of killed Hollywood director Rob Reiner
President Trump attacked Hollywood director Rob Reiner after Reiner’s death, posting on Truth Social that the director died from “Trump derangement syndrome” and calling him “very bad for our country.” Trump repeated these criticisms to reporters in the Oval Office, describing Reiner as “deranged” and falsely suggesting the director was involved in Russia collusion claims, providing no evidence for either assertion.
Rob Reiner, 78, and his wife Michele Singer Reiner, 68, were found dead at their Los Angeles home on Sunday. Police arrested their son Nick on suspicion of murder but have not indicated any motive or suggested that Reiner’s political views or criticism of Trump factored into the deaths.
Trump’s remarks drew rebukes from senior Republicans. Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie, a Republican critic of Trump, called the comments “inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered.” Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, once a Trump supporter, stated the deaths were “a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies” and should be “met with empathy.” Senator John Kennedy criticized Trump for speaking, suggesting the president should have remained silent.
Reiner was a lifelong Democrat and prominent liberal activist who frequently criticized Trump, calling him “mentally unfit” in 2017 and describing his administration as “full-on autocracy” in October. Trump acknowledged his antagonism toward the director, stating he “was not a fan of Rob Reiner at all, in any way, shape or form.”
This follows Trump’s pattern of attacking political opponents after their deaths. In 2019, following Senator John McCain’s death, Trump said he “was never a fan” and “never will be.” That same year, Trump made remarks about deceased Democratic lawmaker John Dingell that were widely interpreted as suggesting damnation, with the White House later claiming Trump was “just riffing.”