Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene responded publicly after President Donald Trump shared a controversial post about the deaths of Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner.
The couple was found dead inside their Brentwood, Calif., home on Dec. 14. Their 32-year-old son, Nick, has been taken into custody in connection with their deaths. Sources close to the family say Nick killed his parents.
Trump weighed in Monday morning on Truth Social, drawing sharp backlash for the tone of his reaction, particularly regarding Rob Reiner.
“A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood,” Trump, 79, wrote. “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.”
“He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump,” the president continued, “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!”
Reiner was a longtime critic of Trump and a prominent supporter of progressive politics. Still, Greene appeared to reject the political framing in Trump’s message.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)/Michele-Singer-Reiner-Rob-Reiner-121425-2fdfbd0e92104c1d81ed723668a6a31e.jpg)
“Rob Reiner and his wife were tragically killed at the hands of their own son, who reportedly had drug addiction and other issues, and their remaining children are left in serious mourning and heartbreak,” Greene, 51, wrote on X above a screenshot of Trump’s post.
“This is a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies,” the Georgia representative continued. “Many families deal with a family member with drug addiction and mental health issues. It’s incredibly difficult and should be met with empathy, especially when it ends in murder.”
Once one of Trump’s fiercest allies, Greene has become more openly critical of him in recent months, including announcing she plans to resign from Congress effective Jan. 5. She has said she refuses to be a “battered wife” to a president she feels has not returned her loyalty.
Greene first rose to national prominence after entering Congress in 2021, often embracing inflammatory rhetoric. More recently—amid speculation about a future run for higher office—she has moderated some of her public posture and has begun condemning political division in interviews.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)/Marjorie-Taylor-Greene-state-of-the-union-030824-fe679690e8e24cefa310cec8e572f5fa.jpg)
In a December 60 Minutes interview, Greene criticized what she called a “toxic political culture,” but correspondent Lesley Stahl pushed back: “But you contributed to that. You were out there pounding, insulting people.”
Maria Shriver, a longtime friend and neighbor of the Reiners, also condemned Trump’s comments in a series of posts on X on Monday.
“I try to rise above the noise all the time, but this individual has no human decency,” she wrote. “This goes beyond. It’s absolutely disgusting. We should all be horrified and disgusted by this inhumane behavior, because that’s what it is.”
“Rob and Michele Reiner were good, kind, loving people. They were good human beings and good friends to me and countless others. Their family is in deep, unimaginable pain,” Shriver, 70, continued. “What kind of human being would share a statement like this, much less a president? … They deserve so much better, as does their family.”
“And furthermore, for the record: Rob and Michele Reiner were devoted parents. They deeply loved all their children and they never gave up trying to care for them. Every single one of them,” she added. “This is not a time for judgement, for politics or rumors. It’s a time for compassion, for understanding, for love. Just because we have a president who can’t do better doesn’t mean each of us can’t.”
Rob and Michele met while he was directing When Harry Met Sally—one of his best-known films. They married in 1989 and had three children: Jake, Nick and Romy.
Nick has spoken openly in the past about struggles with addiction that began in his teens and later led to a period of homelessness. In a 2016 interview, he said he had been back home for some time and was adjusting to being in Los Angeles and around his family.
