President Donald Trump didn't back down Monday after facing widespread criticism for disparaging filmmaker and actor Rob Reiner in the immediate aftermath of Reiner's death. Instead, he doubled down, reviving his favorite insult about critics while lawmakers from both parties urged basic human decency.
The Grim Details
According to Reuters, Rob Reiner and his wife Michele were found dead at their home Sunday night. Police arrested their 32-year-old son, Nick Reiner, on homicide charges. Authorities haven't announced a motive yet.
Rather than offering condolences, Trump posted on Truth Social Monday morning claiming, without any evidence, that the deaths were "reportedly due to the anger he caused" through what the President called a "mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME." Trump also wrote that Reiner had "driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump."
No Retreat Despite Criticism
When asked in the Oval Office whether he stood by the post after even Republicans criticized it, Trump said he wasn't a Reiner fan. Later, according to Politico, Trump brushed off the backlash entirely and repeated his contempt for the filmmaker. "I think he hurt himself career-wise. He became like a deranged person," Trump told reporters, adding, "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."
Bipartisan Condemnation
The comments triggered swift pushback from unusual quarters. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) wrote on X: "Regardless of how you felt about Rob Reiner, this is inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered."
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) added, "This is a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies."
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) responded on X by calling Trump "a sick man," while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) wrote, "He knows no shame."
Reiner, a longtime Democratic donor and activist, had been a vocal Trump critic since the President's first term, including telling Variety in 2017 that Trump was "mentally unfit."