President Trump criticized Hollywood director Rob Reiner in a Truth Social post after Reiner and his wife, Michele, were found dead in their Los Angeles home in an incident officials are investigating as a homicide. Their 32-year-old son, Nick Reiner, has been arrested.
Reiner, 78, was a prominent supporter of the Democratic Party and a frequent, vocal critic of Trump. In his post, the former president called Reiner “a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star” and said the couple’s deaths followed Reiner’s “massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS.”
Trump added that Reiner had a “raging obsession” with him and accused him of escalating paranoia as the Trump administration “surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness.” The post concluded, “May Rob and Michele rest in peace!”
Tributes to Reiner poured in after the couple’s deaths, including from former President Barack Obama, who said that beneath Reiner’s work was “a deep belief in the goodness of people – and a lifelong commitment to putting that belief into action.”
The Los Angeles Fire Department said it responded to a medical aid call at about 3:40 p.m. Sunday and discovered the bodies inside the home. Authorities later arrested the Reiners’ son; details of the investigation and charges have been reported by local officials.
Nick Reiner had a documented history of addiction. That experience influenced the 2016 film Being Charlie, which Rob Reiner made with his son and drew on their family’s struggles.
Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia criticized Trump’s post, calling the incident “a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies.” In a post on X, Greene noted Nick Reiner’s addiction history and urged that the focus be on the family’s mourning rather than political attacks.