Republicans Offer Rare Criticism of Trump After His Broadside at Rob Reiner

President Donald Trump’s attempt on Monday to politicize the killing of director Rob Reiner has split Republicans on Capitol Hill, with many rushing to condemn the remarks as disrespectful.

The famed Hollywood director and his wife were found dead in their Los Angeles home Sunday evening. The Reiners’ younger son, Nick Reiner, has been arrested on suspicion of homicide and is being held on a $4 million bail. A motive has not yet been released for the grisly slaying.

Trump, however, in a post Monday morning to Truth Social, suggested Reiner’s death could be attributed to “the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.”

“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,” Trump posted.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was among the first to criticize the president’s response with a post to X, saying: “This is a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies.”

At the same time as Greene’s post, Rep. Thomas Massie wrote his own statement that condemned Trump’s missive as “inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered.”

“I guess my elected GOP colleagues, the VP, and White House staff will just ignore it because they’re afraid? I challenge anyone to defend it,” Massie continued.

Throughout the day, more congressional Republicans weighed in on the tragedy and Trump’s provocative statement.

“It is not Presidential,” retiring Rep. Don Bacon said in a statement to Axios. “The couple were stabbed to death. Most Americans want more and better from our President.”

Rep. Mike Lawler wrote in a post on X: “This statement is wrong. Regardless of one’s political views, no one should be subjected to violence, let alone at the hands of their own son.”

“It’s a horrible tragedy that should engender sympathy and compassion from everyone in our country, period,” he added.

“We should be lifting the family up in prayer, not making this about politics,” Rep. Stephanie Bice posted on X.

One notable defense of the president came from Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, who said that Trump was “respectful” of the late director.

“He was respectful to him, said he was a once a really good actor and all that, and pointed out the fact that he didn’t like him at all,” Mullin told a reporter for HuffPost on Monday. “I don’t think it was distasteful at all.”

“The guy does not like Trump and President Trump went out and still ended it in a very nice way,” Mullin added.

But rather than criticize the president, most Republicans on Monday chose not to say anything.

“The president ought to speak for himself,” Sen. Ted Cruz told reporters. “I’ve said what I think about it.” Cruz posted a lengthy tribute to Reiner and said on his podcast he was “mourning the murder.”

“I don’t do ongoing commentary about everything that’s said by everyone in government every day,” Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters.

Trump has never been shy about mocking the dead. In 2019, he continued criticizing former Sen. John McCain of Arizona after his death, and even suggested late Michigan Democrat Rep. John Dingell was “looking up” from hell.

The ideological split on Monday extended beyond Capitol Hill, dividing some of the internet’s most popular conservative pundits.

Influencers like Laura Loomer took to the president’s defense, drawing her own inflammatory conclusions about Reiner’s son and his relationship with his parents.

“Rob Reiner was a loser. Naturally, his son was also a loser, and he got addicted to drugs and allegedly murdered his parents,” Loomer said in one of several posts to X. “Looks like Rob should’ve spent more time parenting & less time spreading Russia conspiracy hoaxes about President Trump.”

Conservative commentators Piers Morgan and Chad Prather, on the other hand, noted how hypocritical Trump’s statement was in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination and the media discourse that followed.

“That just crosses every line of basic human decency to me,” Morgan said after reading Trump’s statement on his podcast. “I thought we’d reached a consensus that whatever side of the divide you are on, this is just unacceptable, that when people get murdered you just show some respect.”

Trump’s former lawyer Jenna Ellis posted, “A man and his wife were murdered last night. This is NOT the appropriate response…This is a horrible example from Trump (and surprising considering the two attempts on his own life) and should be condemned by everyone with any decency.”