Richard Land criticizes Trump’s remarks in light of unimaginable tragedy of Reiner family
Dr. Richard Land, executive editor of The Christian Post and president emeritus of Southern Evangelical Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina, criticized a recent social media post President Donald Trump made in response to the gruesome deaths of director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele.
"It was crass and insensitive," said Land, who noted he voted for Trump but sometimes disapproves of his behavior.
Trump drew widespread scorn this week from many within his own political base for a Monday post on Truth Social that mockingly attributed the death of Reiner, who was an outspoken Trump critic, to a bad case of "Trump Derangement Syndrome."
Rob and Michele Reiner were found dead in their Los Angeles home on Sunday in what authorities have linked to their 32-year-old son, Nick Reiner, who reportedly suffered from schizophrenia and addiction to drugs, including methamphetamine. Their bodies were reportedly found with their throats slashed and multiple stab wounds.
Nick Reiner, who made his first appearance in court on Wednesday, was on a medication regimen that sources claimed made him "erratic and dangerous" amid schizophrenia that was worsened by his substance abuse, according to TMZ.
"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," Trump posted.
"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," Trump added.
Trump later doubled down on his unflattering assessment of Reiner when asked in the Oval Office on Monday afternoon if he stood by his Truth Social post, saying he "wasn't a fan of his at all" and accusing the late director of being one of the architects of "the Russia hoax" that snarled his first term.
Land said Trump deserved the pushback he got from the conservatives who rebuked him for his attitude, such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who suggested Trump's comments were mean-spirited not only toward the Reiners, but toward all Americans whose families have been ravaged by drug addiction and mental illness.
"What happened to Rob Reiner and his wife is sad, tragic and painful," Land said. "I can't imagine a situation where you're stabbed to death by one of your children. I can't imagine being a child and stabbing your parents to death. It's just horrific."
Land noted that he profoundly disagreed with the worldview of Reiner, an outspoken liberal who increasingly warned about what he perceived as encroaching "Christian nationalism" in his final years, but that one "can't help but feel for everyone involved in the situation."
"Think about the massive emotional pain involved. I didn't agree with Rob about politics. I don't think we could have been more in disagreement than we were, but I pray for his family. I pray for his children. It's a terrible situation," he said.
“I can’t imagine facing a crisis like this without Jesus in my life. I’m so grateful that Jesus is my Savior,” he added.
Land, who went on to characterize Trump's statements as "insensitive and untimely in a moment like this," urged prayer for Reiner's children as they reel from horror he described as "unimaginable."
"We need to be praying for the people involved and praying for other families who are facing similar crises in their lives, and reaffirming our commitment to trying to limit this terrible scourge of drugs that is devastating so many of our American youth," he said.
Land noted that the Reiner tragedy shows that even the most elite in society are not immune from spiritual darkness and pain.
"It's a terrible, unspeakable tragedy, and it shows that no one is immune to human heartbreak," he said. "No matter how much wealth and talent we have, none of us are immune from the heartbreaks of life."
