President Donald Trump is encountering intense pushback from individuals across all political lines—including some within his own party—after unfoundedly claiming that the deaths of and his wife, Michele Reiner, stemmed from the director’s passionate criticism of the President.

Within 24 hours of the Reiners being discovered stabbed to death in their Brentwood residence on Sunday, Trump lashed out at Rob Reiner over his political views. On Truth Social, he posted that Reiner’s death was “reportedly caused by the anger he stirred in others due to his massive, unrelenting, and incurable case of a mind-paralyzing condition called TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME” and that Reiner “was known to drive people CRAZY with his furious obsession with President Donald J. Trump.”

Later that day, Trump doubled down on his attacks against Reiner, telling reporters: “The director turned into a deranged individual—suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome. I never liked Rob Reiner in any way, shape, or form. I believed he was extremely harmful to our nation.”

Reiner was a vocal critic of Trump and—alongside his wife—a Democratic fundraiser and advocate for liberal causes. The couple’s son, Nick Reiner, has been and booked on suspicion of murder in the case. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has yet to file formal criminal charges, but the Los Angeles Police Department has identified Nick Reiner as “responsible for their deaths.” Authorities have not indicated any link between Rob Reiner’s politics and his death.

Trump’s attacks on the director shortly after his death have sparked outrage among some GOP members, ranging from close allies of the President to those who have repeatedly and publicly opposed him.

Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana told CNN’s Manu Raju at the Capitol: “President Trump ought to have remained silent.”

“A wise man once chose not to speak,” the senator added. “Why? Because he was wise.”

Republican Reps. Mike Lawler of New York and Don Bacon of Nebraska—both representing districts that voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential race—pushed back against Trump’s attack on Reiner with greater force.

“This statement is incorrect,” Lawler wrote in a on X. “No matter one’s political views, no one should face violence—let alone at the hands of their own son. It’s a horrific tragedy that should evoke sympathy and compassion from every person in our country, period.”

Speaking to CNN, Bacon said: “I’d expect to hear something like this from a drunk person at a bar, not the President of the United States. Can the President act presidential?”

Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who has become of Trump in recent months, further rebuked the President over his comments while calling for empathy for the Reiner family.

“Rob Reiner and his wife were tragically killed by their own son, who reportedly struggled with drug addiction and other issues, leaving their remaining children in deep mourning and heartbreak,” Greene on X. “This is a family tragedy—not about politics or political enemies. Many families deal with a loved one’s drug addiction and mental health issues. It’s incredibly difficult and deserves empathy, especially when it ends in murder.”

Greene, once one of Trump’s most vocal supporters, has clashed with him on issues including affordability, foreign policy, H1-B visas for skilled foreign workers, and the release of files related to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Tensions between the two erupted last month when Trump publicly withdrew support from Greene after she broke with him over the Epstein files, calling her a “traitor” and a “disgrace” to the Republican Party. Greene has since announced she will leave Congress in January, criticizing Trump’s Make America Great Again movement in a .

Republican Rep. of Kentucky—one of the most vocal Trump critics in the GOP conference—also slammed the President’s remarks about Reiner.

Massie, a hardline conservative, Trump in the 2024 general election despite repeated clashes with him during the President’s first term. But he has since regularly broken with Trump on key issues and, in turn, been targeted by Trump, who has from Congress in the coming midterms. Massie was outspoken this year in opposing Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, ultimately becoming one of just two House Republicans to vote against the signature piece of the President’s second-term agenda, and was a leading voice against military intervention in Iran.

Massie called the President’s remarks on Reiner “inappropriate and disrespectful” in a on X, adding: “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.”

, a lawyer who represented Trump during and after the 2020 election, also said the President’s words were “NOT the appropriate response.”

Ellis pointed to Republicans’ condemnations of “political and celebratory responses” after the September shooting of conservative commentator and close Trump ally , adding: “This is a horrible example from Trump (and surprising given the two attempts on his own life) and should be condemned by everyone with any decency.”

Republican Rep. of Oklahoma also criticized Trump’s comments, responding to his Truth Social post: “We should be lifting the family up in prayer, not making this about politics.”

David Urban, a former senior adviser to Trump’s 2016 campaign, that the President’s Truth Social post “is indefensible by anyone. I don’t know how anyone can defend it.”

Urban suggested the remarks could harm the Republican Party as it seeks to hold its slim House majority in next year’s elections. “I think the President forgot elections are about addition—one plus one plus one—and as we head into the midterms, I’m wondering how many Republicans were added to the voter rolls today,” he said. “I think none.”

Reiner called Trump “a criminal” and a liar in a 2024 interview with the Guardian. In September, the director warned Trump posed a threat to voting rights in an interview with MS NOW.

“Make no mistake: We have one year before this country becomes a full autocracy and democracy completely vanishes,” Reiner said.