Donald Trump has launched an extraordinary attack on film director Rob Reiner, who was found stabbed to death with his wife on Sunday, as it was revealed the filmmaker’s son had been arrested on murder charges.
The US president said in a post on Truth Social that Reiner was “a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star”.
Mr Trump said Reiner and his wife died “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,” Mr Trump wrote.
Celebrities and politicians have criticised Mr Trump for his comments, labelling them “disgusting” and “petty”.
“What a disgusting and vile statement,” actor Patrick Schwarzenegger said on X, while Californian Democrat Zoe Lofgren condemned Mr Trump’s comments as “a new low for this petty, hateful man”.
Talk show host Whoopi Goldberg compared the president’s comments to those he made after the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, when Mr Trump hit out at critics.
“I don’t understand the man in the White House. He spoke at length about Charlie Kirk and about caring, and then this is what he puts out. Have you no shame? No shame at all? Can you get any lower? I don’t think so,” she said.
“This is a sick man,” California governor Gavin Newsom wrote on X.
Republican US House member Thomas Massie also addressed the comments, saying: “Regardless of how you felt about Rob Reiner, this is inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered.”
Meanwhile, Reiner’s son, Nick, 32, has been “booked for murder”, Los Angeles police chief Jim McDonnell said. The LAPD later said Nick Reiner remains in custody without bail.
Mr McDonnell said the department’s robbery and homicide division was handling the investigation.
“They worked throughout the night on this case and were able to take into custody Nick Reiner, a suspect in this case,” he said, calling the deaths “a very tragic incident”.
It comes as it emerged Nick was reportedly disruptive when he joined his father and mother, Michele Singer Reiner, at a party hosted by comedian Conan O’Brien on Saturday night, the day before the killings.
Reiner and his wife were upset and embarrassed about their son’s behaviour, Sky News’s US partner NBC News cited a source as saying, and expressed concerns about his health.
The outlet cited another source saying Nick’s behaviour had made other guests uncomfortable. They said he interrupted a conversation comedian and filmmaker Bill Hader was having with two guests and, when told it was a private conversation, stood still and stared before storming off.
Reiner and his wife apparently died of stab wounds, US media reported.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said a 78-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman were found dead inside a property in the Brentwood neighbourhood, without identifying the victims. The victims were later confirmed to be Reiner and his wife.
The case against Nick Reiner will be presented to the Los Angeles county district attorney’s office for filing consideration on Tuesday, according to the LAPD.
Nick Reiner has spoken publicly of his struggles with addiction after he had cycled in and out of treatment facilities by the age of 18, with periods of homelessness and relapses in between.
Reiner and his son explored their difficult relationship and Nick Reiner’s struggles with heroin addiction and homelessness in a 2016 film called Being Charlie, which they co-wrote.
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Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene referred to Nick Reiner’s “drug addiction and other issues” in a statement on X.
“This is a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies,” Ms Taylor Greene said.
“Many families deal with a family member with drug addiction and mental health issues. It’s incredibly difficult and should be met with empathy especially when it ends in murder.”
Reiner was a celebrated director whose work included some of the most memorable movies of the 1980s and 1990s.
He directed classics such as This Is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men and Stand By Me.
He also acted, starring in Sleepless In Seattle and The Wolf Of Wall Street among others. His most recent high-profile work was a recurring guest role in the hit show The Bear.
He met Michele Singer in 1989, while directing When Harry Met Sally. They have three children together.
Singer used to work as a photographer and took the photo of Donald Trump that appears on the cover of his book Trump: The Art Of The Deal.
Former US president Barack Obama has led tributes. He wrote on X that “Michelle and I are heartbroken by the tragic passing of Rob Reiner and his beloved wife, Michele. Rob’s achievements in film and television gave us some of our most cherished stories on screen”.
Harry Shearer, who collaborated with Reiner on This Is Spinal Tap, said in a statement: “Rob was a friend and collaborator through much of my life. He was funny, he was smart, he was a mensch.”
He said Reiner’s wife was a “very good friend” to his own wife, Judith, adding: “This is unspeakable, the stuff of Greek tragedy.”
Christopher Guest, who starred in Reiner’s films This Is Spinal Tap and The Princess Bride, and his wife Jamie Lee Curtis said in a joint statement that they were “numb and sad and shocked about the violent, tragic deaths of our dear friends Rob and Michelle Singer Reiner”.
The couple said: “There will be plenty of time later to discuss the creative lives we shared and the great political and social impact they both had on the entertainment industry, early childhood development, the fight for gay marriage and their global care for a world in crisis. We have lost great friends. Please give us time to grieve.”
Read more: Reiner spoke to Eric Idle about future before death
Reiner was a champion of liberal causes and a political activist.
In the 2004 presidential election, he backed Democrat candidate John Kerry and featured in advertisements taking aim at incumbent president George W Bush.
Reiner also supported Democratic presidential hopefuls Al Gore and Hillary Clinton.
“This is a devastating loss for our city and our country. Rob Reiner’s contributions reverberate throughout American culture and society, and he has improved countless lives through his creative work and advocacy fighting for social and economic justice,” Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass said.
California governor Mr Newsom paid tribute to Reiner’s activism as he said he was “heartbroken” over the director’s death.
“Rob was a passionate advocate for children and for civil rights – from taking on Big Tobacco, fighting for marriage equality, to serving as a powerful voice in early education,” Mr Newsom said in a statement.
“He made California a better place through his good works. Rob will be remembered for his remarkable filmography and for his extraordinary contribution to humanity.”
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Former House speaker, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, said: “Personally, Rob cared deeply about people and demonstrated that in his civic activities – whether by supporting the First 5 initiative or fighting against Prop 8 in California.
“Civically, he was a champion for the First Amendment and the creative rights of artists. And professionally, he was an iconic figure in film who made us laugh, cry and think with the movies he created.”
