Donald Trump is facing furious backlash from fellow Republicans over his social media rant about murdered film director Rob Reiner.
The US President doubled down on remarks he made on his Truth Social platform where he wrote Mr Reiner “was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump”.
“He became like a deranged person, Trump Derangement Syndrome. So I was not a fan of Rob Reiner at all, in any way, shape or form. I thought he was very bad for our country,” Mr Trump said,
The comments drew widespread criticism, including from Republican politicians.
Louisiana senator John Kennedy said: “I think a wise man once said nothing. Why? Because he was a wise man.
“I think President Trump should have said nothing. I think when the president says these sorts of things, it detracts from his policy achievements.”
Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, once a staunch supporter of Mr Trump before recently becoming a critic, said that "this is a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies" and that the killings should be "met with empathy".
Kentucky representative Thomas Massie, wrote on X: "Regardless of how you felt about Rob Reiner, this is inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered."
He added: “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.”
Filmmaker and actor Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, were found dead in their Brentwood home in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Their son, Nick Reiner, has been arrested on suspicion of murder.
Mr Reiner was a lifelong Democrat and prominent liberal activist who had spoken out against Mr Trump.
He had called the US President “mentally unfit” for office and earlier this year said he believed Mr Trump was ushering in an age of "full-on autocracy" in the US.
The President repeated his critical comments about Mr Reiner in the Oval Office.
He decribed the director, who made Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride and When Harry Met Sally, as a "deranged person" who was partly "behind" past claims of collusion between Russia and Mr Trump's team.
"I was not a fan of Rob Reiner at all, in any way, shape or form," he said.
It comes as the US president filed a 10 billion dollars (£7.5 billion) lawsuit against the BBC in response to the editing of a speech he made before the 2021 attack on the Capitol.
Mr Trump's lawyers argue the depiction of him given in the edit, which aired in a Panorama documentary a week before the results of the 2024 US election, "was false and defamatory" and they also said "the BBC intentionally and maliciously sought to fully mislead its viewers around the world".
In the Panorama programme, a clip from Mr Trump's speech on January 6 2021 was spliced to show him saying: "We're going to walk down to the Capitol... and I'll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell."
The lawsuit is seeking five billion dollars (£3.7 billion) in damages on two counts: for an allegation of defamation, and for a violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
A BBC spokesperson said: "As we have made clear previously, we will be defending this case. We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings.".
