President Donald Trump reaffirmed a line of attack that has already stirred outrage across the political spectrum.
When asked on Monday in the White House whether he would retract his previous remarks about the late filmmaker Rob Reiner, Trump replied, "Well, I wasn't a fan of his at all. He was a deranged person as far as Trump is concerned." The brief exchange, terse and unyielding, crystallized what many observers had anticipated: the president would not walk back his comments, but double down.
Q: A number of Republicans have denounced your statement on Rob Reiner. Do you stand by it?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 15, 2025
TRUMP: Well, I wasn't a fan of his at all. He was a deranged person as far as Trump is concerned. pic.twitter.com/HmNJvUXV9w
The remarks echoed a post Trump published on Truth Social earlier Monday, in which he implied, without evidence, that Reiner's death was connected to what the president calls "Trump Derangement Syndrome." That post framed Reiner as "tortured" by his opposition to Trump, a narrative widely rejected by journalists and political analysts alike. Yet the opportunity to clarify or retreat passed without concession, leaving the comment intact, sharp and deliberate.
Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead in their Brentwood, Los Angeles home. Their 32-year-old son, Nick Reiner, has been arrested in connection with the killings. Authorities, according to Reuters, have stressed that the case appears domestic in nature and that there is no indication that political beliefs played a role.
Even so, the reaffirmation prompted a renewed chorus of criticism. Republican Representative Thomas Massie described the president's refusal to retract as inappropriate; Democrats across the aisle called it a politicization of a family tragedy, The Guardian reported. Cultural figures weighed in as well. Entertainment Weekly reported that actors and musicians, including Josh Gad and Jack White, publicly denounced the president's comments. Hosts of ABC's ''The View,'' among them Whoopi Goldberg, criticized the remarks for lacking empathy and decorum, highlighting how they eclipsed the human dimensions of the tragedy.
Social media reactions have amplified the controversy, with users on X and Reddit quoting Trump's Truth Social post and decrying the suggestion that Reiner's political views had anything to do with his death. One widely shared thread on Reddit's r/NoFilterNews highlighted that law enforcement has not cited political motivation in the murders, and commenters condemned the political framing, suggesting it trivialized the crime and overshadowed the human tragedy.
As of Monday evening, no clarification or apology had been issued from the White House, leaving the president's statement to stand unaltered: a reminder that, in Trump's reckoning, controversy can be as deliberate as any policy pronouncement.
