President Donald Trump was widely rebuked for claiming that famed film director Rob Reiner had “driven people CRAZY” with his "Trump Derangement Syndrome," referencing the late Reiner's vocal opposition to Trump's policies.
Reiner, 78, and his wife Michelle, 68, were murdered in their Brentwood, Los Angeles, home yesterday afternoon. Reiner's son, Nick, was taken into custody and held on a $4 million bail; police say he is "responsible" for the murders.
Despite acknowledging in a post on Truth Social that Reiner's murder is "a very sad thing," Trump claimed Reiner was killed "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 suggested Reiner's "paranoia" was "reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before."
Reiner considered Trump an authoritarian threat to democracy and endorsed former President Joe Biden in the 2020 election, which Trump falsely asserted was stolen from him. Trump's claims ultimately culminated in the storming of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters who acted on the false premise that the election was fraudulent.
Trump wrote the following on Truth Social:
"A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood."
"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."
"He was 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, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before. May Rob and Michele rest in peace!"
His post is below.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
It is worth noting that the Trump administration has cracked down on free speech rights since the murder of far-right activist Charlie Kirk.
The right wing has largely reacted with anger at leftists who've emphasized Kirk's white supremacist views and his hostility toward marginalized communities. The Trump administration has vowed to crack down on leftist groups despite the well-documented fact that Kirk's murderer was affiliated with the right-wing.
The outrage toward Trump was palpable.
In a piece for The Associated Press, commentator Michelle L. Price said 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 after the death of a public figure."
The incident, Price wrote, has undoubtedly "laid bare Trump’s unwillingness to rise above political grievance in moments of crisis."
