Rob Reiner attacked by Trump on Truth Social in inflammatory post after director's killing

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday suggested the deaths of famed director and actor Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, were tied to the "to the anger he caused others" by being critical of Trump and an "incurable affliction" to what the president calls "TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME."

The Reiners were found dead in their Los Angeles home on Sunday afternoon, reportedly with stab wounds. Their son Nick Reiner, 32, who reportedly has a history of drug addiction, is currently in police custody, according to The Associated Press.

Amid an ongoing police investigation into the deaths, Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, on Monday morning to offer his thoughts on Reiner’s career and potential cause of death.

"A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood," Trump posted. "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."

Trump has often used the term to describe his fiercest critics.

Asked by a reporter at the Oval Office later if he stood-by his post, Trump doubled-down, saying: "I was not a fan of Rob Reiner at all, in any way, shape or form.”

Reiner, the director of award-winning films including "When Harry Met Sally," "A Few Good Men," "Stand by Me" and "The American President," has been a vocal critic of Trump, and a longtime Democratic campaign donor.

In an Oct. 5 interview with MS NOW’s Ali Velshi, Reiner argued Trump’s push to mobilize the National Guard in American cities including in Los Angeles, and to use federal agencies to penalize critical voices in media and academia, were signs the United States was headed toward autocratic rule.

"Make no mistake: We have a year before this country becomes a full-on autocracy and democracy completely leaves us," Reiner said.

Michele Singer Reiner, a photographer, is credited with shooting the Trump portrait used for his 1987 “Art of the Deal” book cover, according to the website IMDB, which catalogues the work of entertainment industry professionals.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), one of the few congressional Republicans critical of Trump, said the president’s comments were indefensible in a post on X.

"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 guess my elected GOP colleagues, the VP, and White House staff will just ignore it because they’re afraid? I challenge anyone to defend it."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), in an X post embedded with Trump’s social media missive, wrote, "He knows no shame. A total jackass."

Earlier in the day, Schumer posted his condolences, and said Reiner was not only an "incredibly talented actor & director, he was also a relentless defender of democracy and the values so many of us share."

Former President Bill Clinton, in an online statement, said Reiner and his wife  "inspired and uplifted millions through their work in film and television."

Former President Barack Obama in a statement said Reiner’s "achievements in film and television gave us some of our most cherished stories on screen," adding that "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."