Washington — President Trump took to social media on Monday to disparage the political views of actor and director Rob Reiner a day after Reiner and his wife Michele were found dead in their Los Angeles home in what police are calling an apparent homicide. The president's comments were quickly condemned by a number of lawmakers of both parties. 

Nick Reiner, the couple's 32-year-old son, has been arrested for murder and is now being held without bail, police said Monday. 

Although there is no evidence that has been made public that connects Reiner's death to his political views, the president linked the director's killing with what he called his "TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME." 

"A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood," the president wrote on Truth Social. "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."

Reiner was a longtime activist and prolific Democratic fundraiser who  gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates and causes over the course of his life. And he was also a longtime critic of Mr. Trump, referring to him during his first term as "mentally unfit" and "unqualified" to be president. 

Mr. Trump said of Reiner, "He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump, 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." His post concluded, "May Rob and Michele rest in peace!"

An official White House account reposted the president's social media post on X. 

A reporter asked the president later Monday if he stands by his post. Mr. Trump did not apologize. 

"Well, I wasn't a fan of his at all," the president said. "He was a deranged person, as fall as Trump was concerned," he said, saying Reiner was "one of the people behind" the "Russia hoax." "I think he hurt himself career-wise. Became like a deranged person. Trump derangement syndrome. So I was not a fan of Rob Reiner in any way, shape or form. I thought he was very bad for our country." 

The president's post drew immediate reactions on social media and from lawmakers of both parties. 

Jenna Ellis, a former lawyer for Mr. Trump's 2020 presidential campaign, condemned the president's message in a post on X. 

"A man and his wife were murdered last night," she wrote. "This is NOT the appropriate response. The Right uniformly condemned political and celebratory responses to Charlie Kirk's death. This is a horrible example from Trump (and surprising considering the two attempts on his own life) and should be condemned by everyone with any decency." In 2023, Ellis pleaded guilty in Georgia to a felony charge of aiding and abetting false statements and writing over alleged efforts to reverse the outcome of the 2020 election. 

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky wrote on X, "Regardless of how you felt about Rob Reiner, this is inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered. 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."

Sen. Alex Padilla, a Democrat from California, told CBS News, "Donald Trump's tirade, just hours after Rob and Michele Reiner's tragic murder, is disgusting and deranged. No matter your politics, this tragedy should be mourned and the violence condemned, not exploited."

Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey of Maryland, a former federal prosecutor, told CBS News, "Trump's statement is sick and dangerous because he suggests the Reiners' killings were because they were vocal critics of the Trump administration." He also criticized the president's comments as divisive, adding, "This rhetoric divides the country, paints targets on private citizens and risks inciting political violence. A president should lower the temperature, not inflame it."

Republican Rep. Stephanie Bice of Oklahoma wrote on X, "A father and mother were murdered at the hands of their troubled son. We should be lifting the family up in prayer, not making this about politics."

And Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who's been targeted by Mr. Trump for pressing the government to release files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, noted in response to the president's post that the Reiners' son "reportedly had drug addiction and other issues, and their remaining children are left in serious mourning and heartbreak."

"This is a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies," Greene 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."