WASHINGTON ― Given the opportunity to tone down his baseless and widely criticized claim that Rob Reiner was murdered because of his anti-Trump views, President Donald Trump on Monday instead repeated his attacks on the beloved director.
“Well, I wasn’t a fan of his at all. He was a deranged person, as far as Trump is concerned,” Trump told reporters in response to a question about his social media post earlier that morning that had been roundly criticized, even by Republicans.
Trump then began rambling that Reiner had criticized Trump for accepting Russian help to win the 2016 election ― which Trump continues to deny ― and for siding with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin on numerous foreign policy issues.
“He said ― he liked ― he knew it was false. In fact, it’s the exact opposite, that I was a friend of Russia, controlled by Russia. You know, the Russia hoax. He was one of the people behind it. I think he hurt himself in – career-wise. 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,” Trump said.
Reiner and his wife, Michele Reiner, were found dead in their Southern California home Sunday night. Police have arrested their son, Nick Reiner, who has battled substance abuse and mental health problems for years, and charged him with the killings.
Trump, though, instead suggested in a post to his personal Truth Social platform that Reiner had brought his slaying on himself.
“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 wrote at 9:51 a.m. “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!”
It is unclear what news story Trump was referring to when he wrote “reportedly due to the anger.”
White House communications director Steven Cheung, press secretary Karoline Leavitt and the general press office all did not respond to HuffPost queries asking for clarification on that matter.
Kevin Wolf via Associated Press