Bill Clinton has penned a tribute to Rob Reiner sharply contrasting with the insulting post made by President Donald Trump in the wake of the director’s shocking death.
“Hillary and I are heartbroken by the tragic death of our friends Rob and Michele Reiner,” the 42nd president of the United States wrote on X, reacting to the news that the Oscar-nominated director and his wife were found slain at their Los Angeles home.
“They inspired and uplifted millions through their work in film and television,” the post continued, calling the couple “good, generous people” and “active” citizens who defended an “inclusive democracy.”
Meanwhile, the current president of the United States took to his own platform, Truth Social, to slam the murdered A Few Good Men director as a “struggling” man with “obvious paranoia” and “a mind-crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.”
A source told the Daily Beast that Rob, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner, 68, were found by their youngest daughter, 28-year-old Romy Reiner.
According to TMZ, Reiner and his wife had gotten into a “very loud argument” with their troubled son, Nick Reiner, at Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party hours before they were found dead in their Brentwood home.
Nick, 32, is in custody of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department on $4 million bail, according to arrest documents.
“We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time,” the family said in a statement.
As news of the murders shook Hollywood and beyond, many, like Clinton, have paid their respects, including former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, both of whom Trump has also targeted with insults over the years.
“Michelle and I are heartbroken by the tragic passing of Rob Reiner and his beloved wife, Michele. Rob’s achievements in film and television gave us some of our most cherished stories on screen,” Obama wrote on X, adding, “But beneath all of the stories he produced was a deep belief in the goodness of people—and a lifelong commitment to putting that belief into action."
Former President Joe Biden wrote that he and his wife were sending their “deepest condolences to everyone whose lives were touched by Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner’s extraordinary contributions,” and acknowledged that they took “solace” in knowing that their work would be remembered for “generations to come.”
Over the years, Reiner was an activist for Democratic causes and called Trump “mentally unfit” and “unqualified” during his first term as president.
In response to Trump’s insensitive post about Reiner’s death, many noted the director’s reaction to the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk back in September. “I don’t care what your political beliefs are. That’s not acceptable,” he told Piers Morgan about the “absolute horror” of Kirk’s murder.
The president’s post has already sparked outrage within his own party and among his MAGA supporters.
“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,’ wrote Trump’s former MAGA princess turned enemy, Marjorie Taylor Greene. She said the ”family tragedy" should not be turned into “politics or political enemies.”
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie also responded to Trump’s post, calling it “inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered.”
Despite the backlash, the president has not yet altered his post. The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment but received no immediate response.
