WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump on Monday blamed Rob Reiner’s outspoken opposition to the president for the actor-director\u2019s killing\u2026<\/b>
\nPresident Donald Trump on Monday blamed Rob Reiner\u2019s outspoken opposition to the president for the actor-director\u2019s killing, delivering the unsubstantiated claim in a shocking post that seemed intent on decrying his opponents even in the face of a tragedy.
The statement, even for Trump, was a shocking comment that came as police were still investigating the deaths of the beloved director and his wife as an apparent homicide. The couple were found dead at their home Sunday in Los Angeles. Investigators believe they suffered stab wounds and the couple\u2019s son Nick Reiner, was in police custody early Monday.
Trump has a long track record of inflammatory remarks, but his comments in a social media post were a drastic departure from the role presidents typically play in offering a message of consolation or tribute to the death of a public figure. His message drew criticism even from conservatives and his supporters and laid bare Trump\u2019s unwillingness to rise above political grievance in moments of crisis.
Trump, in a post on his social media network, said that Reiner and his wife were killed \u201creportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.\u201d
He said Reiner \u201cwas 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.\u201d
Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, who has bucked much of his party\u2019s lockstep agreement with the president, criticized Trump for the comment.
\u201cRegardless of how you felt about Rob Reiner, this is inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered,\u201d Massie wrote in a post on X. \u201cI guess my elected GOP colleagues, the VP, and White House staff will just ignore it because they\u2019re afraid? I challenge anyone to defend it.\u201d
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican whom Trump branded a \u201ctraitor\u201d for disagreeing with him, responded to Trump\u2019s message by saying, \u201cThis is a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies.\u201d
Reiner was one of the most active Democrats in the film industry, regularly campaigning on behalf of liberal causes and hosting fundraisers. He was a vocal critic of Trump, calling him in a 2017 interview with Variety \u201cmentally unfit\u201d to be president and \u201cthe single-most unqualified human being to ever assume the presidency of the United States.\u201d
The White House, which amplified the president\u2019s post, did not respond to a message about the criticism it was receiving and calls for Trump to take it down.
The unsympathetic message was the latest example of Trump\u2019s unsparing prism through which he views those he perceives as enemies.
He made retribution against political enemies a prime focus of his campaign for the White House last year. And he has in the past made light of violence when it\u2019s befallen those on the other side of the political aisle.
When Nancy Pelosi\u2019s husband, Paul Pelosi, was attacked by an intruder looking for the former House speaker at the family\u2019s San Francisco home in 2022 and beaten over the head with a hammer, Trump later mocked the attack.
That\u2019s in despite of his comments after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk earlier this year. Trump said Kirk\u2019s killing was \u201cthe tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree.\u201d
His administration then sought consequences for people who were critical of Kirk or even celebrated his killing.
Jenna Ellis, who was one of Trump\u2019s lawyers and worked on his efforts in 2020 to overturn the results of the presidential election, pointed out Trump\u2019s double standard and called his post \u201cNOT the appropriate response.\u201d
\u201cThe Right uniformly condemned political and celebratory responses to Charlie Kirk\u2019s death. This is a horrible example from Trump (and surprising considering the two attempts on his own life) and should be condemned by everyone with any decency,\u201d Ellis said in a post on X.
When Trump spoke at Kirk\u2019s memorial service, he used his remarks to underline how he views his adversaries.
\u201cI hate my opponent,\u201d the president said.
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