Trump faces GOP rebuke after Rob Reiner remarks following Reiner deaths
President’s social media posts blaming a prominent critic drew swift criticism from Republicans across the spectrum as investigations continued into the Brentwood deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner.
President Donald Trump drew swift and widespread criticism from Republicans and others after he speculated on Truth Social that the deaths of Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Reiner, were connected to the director's political criticism of the president.
Rob Reiner, a long-time critic of Trump and Democratic fundraiser, and his wife were found dead in their Brentwood home on Sunday in what authorities described as an apparent homicide. The couple's son, Nick Reiner, has been arrested and booked on suspicion of murder. The Los Angeles Police Department has said Nick Reiner is responsible for their deaths, though the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office has not yet filed charges. The authorities have not indicated any link between Rob Reiner's politics and the couple's deaths, but the circumstances prompted a wide-ranging political response as the investigation continued.
Trump's post-and-praise messages on Truth Social attacked Reiner for his political views, parroting unverified characterizations and invoking a phrase the former actor has used in public criticism of the president. The remarks included assertions that Reiner's alleged influence contributed to anger or illness, a framing that drew immediate rebukes from Republicans who urged the president to refrain from politicizing a family tragedy. Trump also described Reiner as someone who had driven people crazy by his “raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump,” and he repeated the line that Reiner had succumbed to a “mind crippling disease” he labeled as “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” He later told reporters that Reiner “became like a deranged person, Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
The responses from lawmakers across the GOP ranged from cautious to sharp rebuke. Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana told CNN that Trump should have said nothing in the wake of the deaths. “A wise man once said nothing,” Kennedy quipped, arguing that silence was prudent given the family’s tragedy. House Republicans in several battleground districts joined in the criticism: Rep. Mike Lawler of New York and Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, both of whom represent districts that supported the Democratic nominee in 2024, publicly denounced the remarks as inappropriate and urged empathy for the Reiner family. Lawler wrote on X, “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. It’s a horrible tragedy that should engender sympathy and compassion from everyone in our country, period.” Bacon told CNN that the president’s remarks were something he would not expect to hear from a president. “Can the President be presidential?” he asked.
Other Republicans also pushed back. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has shifted in her stance toward Trump in recent months, emphasized that the deaths were a family tragedy and urged empathy for the Reiner family. “This is a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies,” Greene wrote on X, noting the family’s struggles, including a son with drug addiction and mental health issues. Greene has since signaled a break with Trump, writing a blistering resignation letter in which she criticized the Make America Great Again movement. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a known critic of Trump who has opposed parts of the president’s agenda, called the remarks inappropriate, challenging colleagues in a post on X to defend them and noting his own disagreements with the president.
Other conservative voices also condemned the remarks. Jenna Ellis, a former Trump advisor who represented him during and after the 2020 election, said the post was not the appropriate response and drew parallels to past condemnations of political responses after violence. Rep. Stephanie Bice of Oklahoma urged focusing prayers on the family rather than politics. David Urban, a former senior adviser to Trump’s 2016 campaign, told CNN that the remarks were indefensible and could hurt the party ahead of next year’s elections. Some commentators pointed to a broader context: Reiner’s long history of opposing Trump and fundraising for liberal causes, and the shifting alliances within the party as it heads into a difficult midterm cycle.
The notes accompanying the coverage also remind readers of the broader politics surrounding Rob Reiner’s public profile. Reiner warned in interviews that Trump posed a risk to voting rights and democracy, and his public criticisms have endured as the political landscape has grown more polarized. The tension between Reiner’s activism and Trump’s supporters adds nuance to a story that is first and foremost about a family tragedy, even as it ripples through national politics.
As investigations in Los Angeles continue, the incident has raised questions about the line between political discourse and public tragedy. Republicans who previously backed Trump or supported some of his policy priorities faced renewed scrutiny over how party leaders address controversial, highly publicized statements in the wake of violent events. The episode underscores the ongoing challenge for the GOP: to balance loyalty to a president who remains politically influential with the need to navigate internal divisions and a base that expects firm stances on political and cultural issues, even when those stances touch sensitive personal matters.