Trump Criticizes Late Director Rob Reiner Amid Controversy

Wed Dec 17 2025 12:11:30 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a controversial turn of events, President Trump has reiterated his negative views on the late Hollywood director Rob Reiner, whose death has been met with backlash against the president's remarks. The comments have sparked significant criticism, even from within his own party.

US President Donald Trump has faced backlash for his comments on the death of director Rob Reiner. Trump labeled Reiner as 'very bad for our country' and linked his death to 'Trump derangement syndrome.' The remarks drew condemnation from various political figures, including fellow Republicans who stressed the inappropriateness of such comments in the wake of a tragedy.

US President Donald Trump has repeated his criticism of Rob Reiner - after his earlier remarks about the killed Hollywood director, a longtime Trump critic, sparked widespread condemnation.

The US president told reporters the director was very bad for our country, having earlier written on Truth Social that Reiner's death was linked to Trump derangement syndrome - a term he often uses to describe his critics.

Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner were found dead at their Los Angeles home on Sunday, and police have arrested their son Nick on suspicion of murder.

They have not suggested any motive in the case, or any evidence that Reiner's politics and criticism of Trump played any role.

In his social media post, which called the couple's deaths very sad, Trump criticised Reiner, saying: He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump.

Those comments were widely criticised, including by prominent Republicans.

Kentucky representative Thomas Massie, a Republican who has clashed with Trump since the president returned to the White House in January, wrote on X: Regardless of how you felt about Rob Reiner, this is inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered.

Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene stated that this is a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies and that the murders should be met with empathy.

Multiple other senior members of Trump's party appeared to distance themselves from the remarks. Senator John Kennedy, a Republican representing Louisiana, said he thought Trump should not have made the comments.

Reiner was a lifelong Democrat and prominent liberal activist, and frequently spoke out against Trump. In 2017, for example, he called Trump mentally unfit for office. And as recently as October, Reiner said he believed Trump was ushering in an age of full-on autocracy in the US.

Hours after his social media post, Trump repeated his thoughts on Reiner in comments given to reporters in the Oval Office, describing the director as a deranged person who was partly behind previous claims of collusion between Russia and Trump's team.

Reiner, who was 78, was known for directing several iconic films and married Michele in 1989. Together they had three children, including Nick, 32. Michele Reiner was an actress, photographer, and producer.