President Donald Trump continued to criticize late director Rob Reiner on Monday afternoon, telling reporters in the Oval Office that the Hollywood icon who was killed in his home over the weekend was “deranged.”
Trump blamed Reiner for perpetuating the idea that Russian interference swung the 2016 election in Trump’s favor.
“I wasn’t a fan of his at all. He was a deranged person, as far as Trump is concerned,” he said. The Russia hoax, he was one of the people behind it… 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.”
Q: A number of Republicans have denounced your statement on Rob Reiner. Do you stand by it?
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
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 15, 2025
Trump faced a wave of criticism after he badmouthed Reiner earlier in the day in a memorial post on Truth Social. The president called Reiner a “tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director” and blamed his death on the “anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with… Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
Start your day with essential news from Salon.
Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course.
Prominent conservatives condemned Trump’s response. Fox News commentator Kennedy and Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie both chastised Trump for his petty post.
“Disgusting, unnecessary and inappropriate,” Kennedy wrote on X.
