What exactly did Rob Reiner say about violence toward Donald Trump and where was it published?
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Executive summary
President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social and spoke to reporters that Rob Reiner’s and his wife’s deaths were “reportedly due to the anger he caused others” through what Trump called “TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME,” and later told reporters he “was not a fan of Rob Reiner at all” and called Reiner “deranged” [1] [2]. These comments—first as a Truth Social post and then repeated in person at the White House—prompted bipartisan criticism from Republican lawmakers and media coverage across outlets including TIME, Forbes, PBS and The Guardian [3] [2] [4] [5].
1. What Trump actually wrote and where it appeared
Trump posted on Truth Social a message saying the Reiners’ deaths were “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,” and added that Reiner “was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump” [1] [3]. Multiple outlets quote the Truth Social post verbatim and identify it as the origin of the language that sparked outrage [1] [3].
2. What he said afterward to reporters
After posting on Truth Social, Trump doubled down when asked by reporters at the White House, calling Reiner “deranged” and saying “I was not a fan of Rob Reiner at all, in any way, shape or form” and “I thought he was very bad for our country” [2] [6]. Coverage by PBS and other outlets documents the on-the-record exchange between Trump and reporters where he reiterated the sentiment [4] [2].
3. How major outlets and commentators characterized the comments
Mainstream outlets described the posting and comments as inflammatory and baselessly blaming Reiner for his own killing. TIME called Trump’s suggestion “baseless,” noting it “less than 24 hours” after the Reiners were found stabbed and that the comments drew fierce blowback [3]. The Nation and The Guardian reproduced the Truth Social language and characterized the tone as shocking and cruel in the immediate aftermath [1] [5].
4. Political fallout and Republican pushback
Republican lawmakers publicly criticized Trump’s reaction. TIME, Axios and PBS reported Republicans such as Rep. Mike Lawler and Rep. Thomas Massie called the remarks inappropriate and urged compassion for victims; Axios noted bipartisan condemnations within the GOP [3] [7] [4]. Local GOP leaders in Massachusetts also published statements saying leaders’ words should reflect sympathy for victims [8].
5. How critics framed motive and context
Critics framed Trump’s post as weaponizing a derogatory phrase—“Trump Derangement Syndrome”—to blame a murdered man for violence against him, thereby deflecting from the family tragedy and the ongoing criminal investigation into the Reiners’ deaths [1] [3]. Opinion outlets and late-night hosts condemned the comments as “hateful” and “vile,” and noted they came while police were still investigating [9] [3].
6. Supportive or sympathetic perspectives in reporting
Some right-leaning outlets reproduced Trump’s post and defended his remarks as expressing a long-standing personal view of Reiner, with commentary pieces repeating the Truth Social copy and portraying the president as doubling down [10] [11]. Reporting in outlets like Townhall and The Gateway Pundit presented the post in a sympathetic framing, stressing Reiner’s past attacks on Trump and arguing Trump’s reaction was predictable [10] [11].
7. What sources do and don’t report
Available sources consistently report the Truth Social post text and the White House reporter exchange as the venues where Trump made these specific comments [1] [4]. Available sources do not mention any subsequent formal White House statement retracting the language, nor do they report Trump issuing an apology—those outcomes are not found in current reporting [1] [4].
8. Why precision matters here
The exact phrasing—accusing the Reiners’ deaths of being “due to the anger he caused others” via “TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME”—is central to why news organizations and politicians flagged the remarks as inflammatory and irresponsible while a homicide investigation was active [1] [3]. Reporting shows the words came first as a Truth Social post and were then echoed directly to reporters at the White House, which matters legally and politically because it turned a social-media comment into a public presidential statement [1] [4].
If you want, I can compile direct screenshots or verbatim transcripts from the cited articles showing the Truth Social post and the White House reporter exchange for archival reference.