President Donald Trump launched a scathing attack on Hollywood director Rob Reiner on Monday, a day after Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found brutally killed inside their Los Angeles home.
Trump’s remarks came as the couple’s 32-year-old son, Nick Reiner, was taken into custody and held on a $4 million bond, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department jail records. Authorities have not yet listed any formal charges against him, and police have not disclosed a motive for the killings.
Despite the lack of official information, Trump suggested the deaths were linked to the anger Rob Reiner had allegedly stirred through his outspoken criticism of the president.
“A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
In a lengthy post, Trump described Reiner as “once very talented” but claimed the director had been consumed by what he called “TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME,” asserting that Reiner’s political views and public attacks had driven others to rage. Trump offered no evidence to support the suggestion and authorities have made no such claims.
“He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump,” Trump wrote, adding that Reiner’s criticism intensified as his own administration ushered in what he described as a “Golden Age of America.”
Trump ended the post by writing, “May Rob and Michele rest in peace!”
The president’s comments drew immediate criticism, including from Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, who publicly rebuked Trump.
“Regardless of how you felt about Rob Reiner, this is inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered,” Massie wrote. “I challenge anyone to defend it.”
Massie has been openly at odds with Trump in recent months, particularly after co-sponsoring legislation that forced the Justice Department to release investigative files related to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell — a move Trump had initially opposed.
Rob Reiner was a long-time and vocal critic of Trump. In an interview last October, Reiner warned that the US was on the brink of authoritarianism.
“Make no mistake; we have a year before this country becomes a full-on autocracy,” Reiner said at the time, arguing that Trump feared losing control of Congress in future elections.
Reiner was one of Hollywood’s most successful and influential directors, with films including This Is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, and A Few Good Men. He first rose to fame as Archie Bunker’s son-in-law on the iconic TV series All in the Family.
As the investigation into the killings continues, police have urged restraint, saying no conclusions should be drawn until all facts are established.