In a disturbing post on Truth Social on Monday, President Trump made nonsensical and insensitive comments about the tragic deaths of Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his wife, producer Michele Singer Reiner. Reiner’s son, Nick Reiner, is in custody as a suspect. In the post, Trump claimed that Reiner’s death, which is being investigated as a homicide, was actually due to “TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.” Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) is obviously not a real medical condition, but is the term Trump supporters use to describe those who harbour a deep dislike of or criticism for Trump.
What happened?
At around 3:40 PM local time, LAPD responded to a death investigation at Reiner’s home, where they found the director and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, deceased. The Reiner’s youngest daughter found the couple deceased and made the report to the LAPD. While the LAPD did not initially confirm the identities of Reiner and his wife, it confirmed that they were investigating the case as a homicide. Reiner’s son, Nick Reiner, was arrested on suspicion of murder approximately six hours after Los Angeles police responded to Romy Reiner’s call. Reiner was initially booked with a $4 million bail, but the LAPD released an updated statement confirming that Reiner was being held without bail.
Trump’s comments
Trump’s comments came as a stark contrast to the ‘thoughts and prayers’ by celebrities and politicians. He opened his Truth Social post by saying, “A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood.” Trump went on to describe Reiner as “once very talented” but also claimed Reiner was “tortured and struggling”. Trump claimed that Reiner passed away “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.” Obviously, the statement is both insensitive and nonsensical, but behaviour like this is the norm for the most powerful politician in the world.
A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood. Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, 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.
Trump continued to claim that Reiner “was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump,” Yes, in this deranged statement, Trump also referred to himself in the third person. Trump then stated that Reiner was experiencing “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.” The way Trump spoke about this case, you’d assume he conducted the autopsy! Trump closed out the statement with what almost seemed like empathy, stating, “May Rob and Michele rest in peace!” Yes, the exclamation mark feels… weird. Obviously, all of these statements are concerning and a little uncomfortable to read while thinking about the Reiners’ family and loved ones.
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!
Rob Reiner was a well-known progressive and had made dozens of critical comments about Trump, including that Trump was “mentally unfit” to be president, and accusing him of treason. Multiple Republican politicians have criticized Trump’s comments, with Marjorie Taylor Greene claiming this incident was, “a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies.” Rep. Thomas Massie called the comments “inappropriate and disrespectful.” Trump’s comments are a stark contrast to the messaging from human beings on both sides of the aisle.
Regardless of how you felt about Rob Reiner, this is 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.
Nick Reiner arrested
Nick Reiner, 32, who was arrested on Sunday, is the second-born son of Rob and Michele. Reiner has only one credit in Hollywood, having written the film Being Charlie, which was directed by his father, Rob. Being Charlie was reportedly written about Nick’s own struggles with drug addiction, homelessness, and stays in rehab. Being Charlie was released in 2015, and Rob was quoted as saying, “The whole process for me – I can just speak for myself – it did make me understand him a lot more, and it did make me a better father. Hopefully it did,” regarding the experience of working with his son.
Rob Reiner directed Being Charlie as a way to reconcile with his son’s struggles while supporting his future. Nick Reiner co-wrote the script with a friend he met while in rehab, while Rob directed the film by pulling on his own experiences as the father of a teenage drug addict. Nick has been quoted as saying that Being Charlie was the only positive to come from his experiences in rehab.
I got sick of it. I got sick of doing that…. I come from a nice family; I’m not supposed to be out there on the streets and in homeless shelters doing all these…things,
-Nick Reiner
Rob Reiner has spoken about his struggles dealing with Nick’s addiction, “When Nick would tell us that it wasn’t working for him, we wouldn’t listen. We were desperate and because the people had diplomas on their wall, we listened to them when we should have been listening to our son.”