(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump is facing backlash for his response to the deaths of Rob and Michele Weiner by saying the deaths were related to politics, calling them “reportedly” the result of “Trump derangement syndrome.”
Actor-director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead in their home on Sunday. Their son, Nick Reiner, has been arrested and is currently being held on a $4 million bond.
Rob Reiner was an outspoken critic of Trump. The president, in a Truth Social post, said that his death was “a very sad thing” but then proceeded to criticize his views and refer to him as struggling and crazy.
“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. 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!” Trump wrote.
His post sparked backlash, including from those in his own party.
“Regardless of how you felt about Rob Reiner, this is inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered. I guess my elected GOP colleagues, the VP, and White House staff will just ignore it because they’re afraid? I challenge anyone to defend it,” Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., said on X.
Christian, conservative broadcaster Erick Erickson also weighed in on X.
“A Trump-supporting relative last night told me he was getting tired of the President and wished he’d just disappear a bit. This is the sort of stuff that exhausts people who like the man,” he said.
The president also faced criticism from the other side of the aisle, with Democratic strategist Max Burns referencing the way conservatives criticized some on the left for how they responded to the death of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk.
“I don’t want to hear another sanctimonious word from the Republicans who accused Democrats of not showing enough sadness when Charlie Kirk died. Donald Trump’s message about Rob and Michele Reiner’s death is a monstrosity,” he said.
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) said in a post on the social platform that the president’s statement “was wrong.”
“Regardless of one’s political views, no one should be subjected to violence, let alone at the hands of their own son. It’s a horrible tragedy that should engender sympathy and compassion from everyone in our country, period,” he wrote.
Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.) also reposted Trump’s remarks, saying Reiner’s apparent homicide should not be politicized.
“A father and mother were murdered at the hands of their troubled son. We should be lifting the family up in prayer, not making this about politics,” Bice wrote.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) noted Nick Reiner’s long history with drug abuse, describing the deaths as “a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies.”
“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 posted on X.
The online blowback from the GOP extended to a number of conservative media figures and MAGA influencers.
“This tweet is so disappointing. And so unnecessary. It’s comments like this that take away from the countless great things @realDonaldTrump does for America,” conservative sports commentator Sage Steele wrote in an X post.
CNN commentator and Trump campaign alum David Urban called Trump’s remarks “indefensible.”
“Why not simply: ‘Melania and I extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to the Reiner family at this very difficult time’?” Urban said.
Many on both the political left and the right were quick to point to a post from “The Charlie Kirk Show” executive producer and Turning Point USA Chair Andrew Kolvet, which was published prior to Trump’s Truth Social post. Kolvet praised Reiner for his response to Kirk’s killing in September.
“Rob Reiner responded with grace and compassion to Charlie’s assassination. This video makes it all the more painful to hear of he and his wife’s tragic end. May God be close to the broken hearted in this terrible story,” Kolvet wrote late Sunday.
Despite the pushback, Trump dug in when asked about the post in the Oval Office.
“I wasn’t a fan of his at all. He was a deranged person as far as Trump is concerned,” Trump told reporters, before saying Reiner was a part of “the Russia Hoax.”
“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,” the president said.
Democratic figures, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), former Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Obama, took to social media to offer their condolences to the Reiner family following the news.
“Michelle and I are heartbroken by the tragic passing of Rob Reiner and his beloved wife, Michele. Rob’s achievements in film and television gave us some of our most cherished stories on screen. But beneath all of the stories he produced was a deep belief in the goodness of people—and a lifelong commitment to putting that belief into action,” Obama wrote on X.
NewsNation partner The Hill contributed to this report.