Legendary filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead in their Los Angeles home on Sunday.
Their son, Nick Reiner, has been booked on suspicion of their murder.
While Hollywood is mourning the death of the director, President Donald Trump claimed that the couple “reportedly” died due to the “anger he [Rob Reiner] caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction” with “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
Highlights
- Rob Reiner and his wife were found dead; their son Nick Reiner is suspected of their murder in a tragic family incident.
- President Trump blamed Reiner’s death on 'Trump Derangement Syndrome,' causing massive backlash and outrage.
- Trump doubled down, calling Reiner 'deranged' and 'very bad for the country,' deepening the political divide.
Trump received strong backlash for a post about the murder of Rob and Michele Reiner
Image credits: The White House/Flickr
His post gained massive backlash, but Trump only doubled down on his statement when speaking with reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. Trump said about the director, “Well, I wasn't a fan of his at all. He was a deranged person, as far as Trump is concerned.”
Trump continued, “[Reiner said] that I was a friend of Russia, controlled by Russia. You know, it was the Russia hoax; he was one of the people behind it.”
“I think he hurt himself, career-wise. He became like 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,” Trump said.
Reiner was a Democrat and a strong critic of Trump. In a 2017 interview with Variety, Reiner called Trump “mentally unfit” to be president. He described Trump as “the single most unqualified human being to ever assume the presidency of the United States.”
In 2024, Reiner told MSNBC that another term under Trump could turn the U.S. into a “full-on autocracy” within a year. He said, “It’s time to stop fu**** around. If the Convicted Felon wins, we lose our Democracy. Joe Biden has effectively served [the] US with honor, decency, and dignity. It’s time for Joe Biden to step down.”
But in Trump’s words, this was all the “Trump Derangement Syndrome” or TDS.
Image credits: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images
In a Truth Social post that has gone viral for all the wrong reasons, Trump spoke of this in detail.
“A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood,” Trump began. “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 continued, “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.”
“May Rob and Michele rest in peace!” the post ended.
Social media users, artists, and family friends reacted strongly to this post.
Trump said the couple died due to Reiner's "affliction" with "Trump Derangement Syndrome"
“To use someone's tragic death to promote your own vanity and fascist authoritarian agenda is a corrupt and narcissistic sin. Shame on you trump and anyone who defends this,” musician Jack White said in a social media post.
“Rob Reiner and his wife were tragically killed at the hands of their own son, who reportedly had drug addiction and other issues, and their remaining children are left in serious mourning and heartbreak. This is a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies,” Trump’s long-time ally turned adversary, Marjorie Taylor Greene, wrote on X.
A friend of the Reiners, Maria Shriver, condemned Trump’s comments on X, saying, “I try to rise above the noise all the time, but this individual has no human decency. This goes beyond. It’s absolutely disgusting. We should all be horrified and disgusted by this inhumane behavior, because that’s what it is.”
“What kind of human being would share a statement like this, much less a president?” she continued. “This is not a time for judgement, for politics or rumors. It’s a time for compassion, for understanding, for love. Just because we have a president who can’t do better doesn’t mean each of us can’t,” Shriver concluded.
Image credits: Jesse Grant/Getty Images
One X user shared a comparison of Trump’s reaction to Reiner’s death, contrasted with Reiner’s compassionate reaction when the co-founder of Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk, had been assassinated.
Speaking with CNN on Monday, Sen. Markwayne Mullin called Trump’s comments on Reiner “respectful.”
“I don't think they're controversial. Because he was respectful to him, said he was once a really good actor and all that. And pointed out the fact that he didn't like him at all, but wished him, you know, ended the text fine,” Mullin said.
“You guys make out at what you want. I didn't think it was distasteful at all. It's no secret, the guy does not like President Trump. President Trump went up and still did it in a very nice way.”