(The Hill) — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) rebuked President Trump on Monday for suggesting acclaimed actor and director Rob Reiner was killed this weekend because of his political opposition to the president — what Trump calls “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
In a post on the social platform X, Greene pushed back on Trump’s statement, calling the deaths of Rob and Michele Singer Reiner “a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies,” after news surfaced that their son, Nick Reiner, was in police custody Monday.
Reiner, 32, has been “booked for murder,” Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said, and is being held on $4 million bail.
“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,” the Georgia Republican said in the statement.
“Many families deal with a family member with drug addiction and mental health issues. It’s incredibly difficult and should be met with empathy especially when it ends in murder,” she added.
Trump on Monday responded to news of the Reiners’ deaths by blasting the longtime director for his history of activism for progressive causes and support for Democratic candidates.
“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 wrote on his Truth Social platform Monday morning, using a term he frequently employs to dismiss criticism from political opponents.
“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,” Trump continued. “May Rob and Michele rest in peace!”
Greene has grown increasingly critical of the president in recent months, publicly breaking with him on issues related to health care and calling for the release of documents in the Jeffrey Epstein probe, which Trump ultimately supported. Greene, once known as a conservative firebrand, has in recent months condemned what she calls “toxic” politics and has urged both sides to tone down provocative language.