Trump has since doubled down on his comments.
US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump has been condemned for his “disgusting” comments linking the death of film director Rob Reiner with his criticism of the president.
Reiner’s son Nick was arrested after the Hollywood director and his wife Michelle Singer were found dead in their Los Angeles home in the early hours of this morning with what appeared to be stab wounds.
After initial reports identified Reiner as a person of interest, but before his arrest was confirmed, Trump said the director was killed due to Trump derangement syndrome.
The term is derogatory description for anti-Trump proponents coined by Trump supporters.
In post on his platform Truth Social the US President referred to Reiner as “tortured and struggling”.
He said Reiner was killed “due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as Trump derangement syndrome”.
The Democrats described the statement as “heartless” on X, while political commentator Brian Krassenstein said it was “the most disgusting Post Donald Trump has ever made”.
“Imagine if I said this about Charlie Kirk,” he said, highlighting Trump’s open criticism of those who commented on the September killing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
Others have drawn attention to the difference between Trump’s Reaction to Reiner’s death and Reiner’s reaction to Charlie Kirk’s. A video showing Reiner’s reaction has been shared widely on social media.
“That should never happen to anybody, I don’t care what your political beliefs are,” he said in an interview with Piers Morgan.
Former First Lady of California Maria Shriver said Trump “has no human decency”.
“What kind of human being would share a statement like this, much less a president?” she said.
US lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene, an influential right-wing figure and former staunch ally of Trump, said: “This is a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies.”
Trump has since doubled down on his comments.
“I wasn’t a fan of his at all. He was a deranged person, as far as Trump is concerned,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked if he stood by his earlier remarks.
Reiner – a strong supporter of progressive causes and a lifelong Democrat – has openly criticised Trump and his policies.
In a 2017 interview with Variety, Reiner said Trump was “mentally unfit” to be president and called him the “single most unqualified human being to ever assume the presidency of the United States”.
In 2018 he accused Trump of “treason,” while in an October interview with MSNBC, he described the US political climate as “beyond McCarthy era-esque.”
Reiner was a strong advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, same-sex marriage, early childhood education and healthcare.
