Trump stands by comments mocking Reiner’s murder after backlash

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump stood by comments ridiculing murdered Hollywood impresario Rob Reiner and his wife on Dec 15, even after the remarks prompted criticism from both Democrats and Republicans.

Mr Trump earlier issued a post on his Truth Social platform mocking the couple’s deaths. Mr Reiner and his wife Michele were found dead in their Brentwood home
on Dec 14 after suffering stab wounds, the Associated Press reported. 

A family member, Nick Reiner, 32, was arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department
on Dec 15. No charges were listed in the arrest, according to the booking statement. Bail was set at US$4 million.

“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,” Mr Trump wrote.

Asked about the criticism later at an event in the Oval Office, Mr Trump maintained his stance.  

“I wasn’t a fan of his at all. He was a deranged person as far as Trump is concerned,” the president said. 

“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,” he continued.

After the Truth Social post, several House Republicans and conservative personalities pushed back on his comments. 

“This statement is wrong. Regardless of one’s political views, no one should be subjected to violence, let alone at the hands of their own son,” New York Republican Representative Mike Lawler said on X. 

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican and former Trump loyalist who has publicly broken with the president in recent weeks, called for empathy. 

“This is a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies,” she posted on X.

Conservative commentator Erick Erickson drew parallels with the calls for civility after the September assassination of Charlie Kirk.

“All of those people who lost their jobs for their disgusting tweets about Charlie Kirk’s assassination are staring at the President of the United States’ social media account in disbelief,” the commentator wrote. 

Mr Reiner, whose credits include This Is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride, and When Harry Met Sally, was a longtime Democratic donor and critic of Mr Trump.

“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,” Mr Trump wrote on social media. “May Rob and Michele rest in peace!”

Other political leaders expressed their condolences following news of the deaths.

“Rob’s achievements in film and television gave us some of our most cherished stories on screen,” former President Barack Obama said in a social media post. “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.”

Mr Reiner, the son of legendary comedian Carl Reiner, earned an Academy Award nomination for his courtroom drama A Few Good Men and two Emmy awards for his acting as “Meathead” in All in the Family. He met his wife Michele – a photographer whose photo of Mr Trump appears on the cover of his book The Art of the Deal – on the set of When Harry Met Sally. BLOOMBERG