{"id":194403,"date":"2025-12-16T08:53:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T08:53:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/194403\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T08:53:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T08:53:07","slug":"trumps-post-on-rob-reiner-sparks-outrage-from-lawmakers-and-celebrities-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/194403\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s post on Rob Reiner sparks outrage from lawmakers and celebrities \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Celebrities and lawmakers from both of the US\u2019s big political parties are condemning Donald Trump<\/a> after the president blamed the death of Rob Reiner <\/a>on what he described as the acclaimed Hollywood director\u2019s dislike of him.<\/p>\n

After the apparent killings of Reiner, 78, and his 68-year-old wife, Michele, who were found dead at their home Sunday in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles, Trump took to social media to call the director \u201ctortured and struggling\u201d. Trump also claimed Reiner died \u201cdue to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind-crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME\u201d.<\/p>\n

Trump then pivoted to praising his own accomplishments, asserting that Reiner\u2019s alleged \u201craging obsession\u201d and \u201cobvious paranoia\u201d toward him stood in contrast to his administration. Trump also maintained that he had \u201csurpassed all goals and expectations of greatness … with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before\u201d.<\/p>\n

Later on Monday, Trump responded to a reporter\u2019s question during an unrelated White House event by doubling down and mocking the director. \u201cI wasn\u2019t a fan of his at all, he was a deranged person as far as Trump is concerned,\u201d the president said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe knew it was false, in fact it was the exact opposite, but he said that I was a friend of Russia, controlled by Russia, the Russia hoax, he was one of the people behind it. I think he hurt himself career-wise, he became like a deranged person,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles police on Monday confirmed the Reiners\u2019 32-year-old son, Nick, had been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the deaths of his parents. His bail was set at $4m.<\/p>\n

Celebrities and lawmakers, meanwhile, were swift to lambast Trump over what they described as \u201cpetty\u201d and \u201cdisgusting\u201d comments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a disgusting and vile statement,\u201d actor Patrick Schwarzenegger wrote on X.<\/p>\n

Similarly, television host Whoopi Goldberg, who described Reiner as her friend and \u201cquite an amazing man,\u201d condemned Trump.<\/p>\n

She referenced Trump\u2019s own attacks on critics of the far-right political activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead in September. <\/p>\n

That killing prompted reprisals from the White House against those who cited Kirk\u2019s history of hostile rhetoric toward immigrants, women and other marginalised groups. <\/p>\n

Goldberg said: \u201cI don\u2019t 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\u2019t think so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, California\u2019s Democratic governor Gavin Newsom wrote on X: \u201cThis is a sick man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Echoing Newsom, US House member Maxwell Alejandro Frost, a Florida Democrat, said: \u201cWhat a despicable piece of garbage.\u201d<\/p>\n

US senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, similarly said of Trump: \u201cHe\u2019s just lost it. Now saying Rob and Michele Reiner caused their own murder because they didn\u2019t support him. So sick.\u201d<\/p>\n

US House member Zoe Lofgren, another California Democrat, called Trump\u2019s comments \u201ca new low for this petty, hateful man\u201d. Lofgren added: \u201cHis party needs to condemn this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Similarly, US House member Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, wrote: \u201cThis is a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greene also seemingly alluded to Nick Reiner\u2019s past experiences with addiction and homelessness, writing, \u201cMany families deal with a family member with drug addiction and mental health issues. It\u2019s incredibly difficult and should be met with empathy especially when it ends in murder.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greene\u2019s fellow Republican US House member Thomas Massie struck a similar chord. The Kentucky representative said: \u201cRegardless of how you felt about Rob Reiner, this is inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered.\u201d<\/p>\n

Massie also said he challenged anyone in his party \u2013 including vice-president JD Vance and White House staff \u2013 to defend Trump\u2019s commentary.<\/p>\n

Reiner had long been a vocal critic of Trump. In a 2017 interview with Variety, he said Trump was \u201cmentally unfit\u201d to be president. And Reiner warned the Guardian that the US could slide into autocracy if Trump successfully ran for a second presidency in 2024 \u2013 which he did.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe see autocracy making its move around the world,\u201d Reiner said at the time. \u201cIf we [the US] crumble, there\u2019s a danger that democracy crumbles around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite his criticisms of Trump and far-right Christian nationalist movements, Reiner expressed \u201cabsolute horror\u201d and unequivocally condemned political violence after Kirk was shot.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s beyond belief what happened to him,\u201d Reiner said at the time. \u201cThat should never happen to anybody. I don\u2019t care what your political beliefs are. That\u2019s not acceptable. That\u2019s not a solution to solving problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Reiner\u2019s wife, Michele \u2013 formerly Michele Singer before her marriage \u2013 was the photographer behind the cover image of Trump\u2019s 1987 book The Art of the Deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy wife, Michele, who is a professional photographer \u2013 she took the photo that\u2019s on the cover of the book The Art of the Deal,\u201d Reiner told Politico at one point. He also said: \u201cThey were up on this high-rise that he was constructing, and they were going to take the pictures overlooking [New York City\u2019s] Central Park. And the wind was blowing, and he said: \u2018I got to get this hairspray, you know, I need this special hairspray.\u2019\u201d \u2013 The Guardian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Celebrities and lawmakers from both of the US\u2019s big political parties are condemning Donald Trump after the president…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":194404,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[969,93,61,60,282,90],"class_list":["post-194403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-donald-trump","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-tv","tag-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194403","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=194403"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194403\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/194404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=194403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=194403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}