Trump comments on deaths of US filmmaker Rob Reiner and wife cause outrage
Rob Reiner, who was found dead alongside his wife, Michele Reiner, at their Los Angeles home in what police are investigating as a double homicide, was not only a celebrated filmmaker but also a longtime Democratic Party supporter and one of US President Donald Trump’s most outspoken critics.
Reiner, 78, and his wife, Michele, 70, were discovered dead at their home on Sunday. Their son, Nick Reiner, has since been arrested on homicide charges.
During Trump’s first term, Reiner repeatedly described the president as “mentally unfit” and “unqualified” to serve in office.
Now, Trump has caused outrage by linking the couple’s death to their personal dislike of his presidency.
Trump’s comments
In a social media post on Monday, Trump referred to Reiner as “tortured and struggling” and said he and his wife had passed away, “reportedly due to the anger he caused” by opposing Trump as president.
“He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
The president, who frequently lashes out at his opponents and praises public figures who support him, provided no evidence that Reiner’s political views contributed in any way to the couple’s death.
Trump’s post drew fierce criticism online from both Democratic and Republican politicians.
Congressman Mike Lawler of New York
The Republican said on X that Trump’s statement was “wrong”.
“Regardless of one’s political views, no one should be subjected to violence,” he said.
Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky
Representative Massie described Trump’s comments as “inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered”.
Massie is a Trump critic on the Republican side of the House of Representatives.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia
The Republican was once one of Trump’s fiercest allies in Congress. Now one of his strongest critics, she said, “This is 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 wrote on X.
Congresswoman Stephanie Bice of Oklahoma
“A father and mother were murdered at the hands of their troubled son,” the Republican said on X.
“We should be lifting the family up in prayer, not making this about politics,” she added.
Congressman Don Bacon of Nebraska
“I’d expect to hear something like this from a drunk guy at a bar, not the president of the United States,” the Republican, who retires from the House next year, told CNN.
David Axelrod, former chief strategist to President Barack Obama
Axelrod described Trump’s comments as “perverse”.
“The absence of empathy & grace for the Reiner family in their moment of profound loss and grief is sad and revealing. For @POTUS, his grievances trump their grief,” he said on X.
