💥 OMG MOMENT ROCKS WASHINGTON: GOP LAWMAKERS PART WAYS WITH TRUMP AFTER SHOCKING COMMENTS — PRIVATE BACKLASH LEAKS, ALLIES GO SILENT, AND THE POLITICAL FALLOUT STARTS SPREADING FAST ⚡

WASHINGTON — President Donald J. Trump’s reaction to the killing of filmmaker and political activist Rob Reiner has prompted an unusually sharp backlash, including public criticism from some Republican lawmakers, underscoring growing unease within the party over the president’s rhetoric and conduct.

Mr. Reiner, the acclaimed director behind films such as A Few Good Men, When Harry Met Sally and Stand by Me, and his wife, Michelle Reiner, were killed in what authorities have described as a homicide under investigation in Los Angeles. Within hours of the news, Mr. Trump posted a message on Truth Social asserting that Mr. Reiner’s long-standing criticism of him — which the president labeled “Trump derangement syndrome” — had somehow contributed to the tragedy.

The post, which contained no evidence and bore no connection to the known facts of the case, was swiftly condemned across the political spectrum. Several Republicans, including some who have generally aligned with Mr. Trump, described the comments as inappropriate and disrespectful to a grieving family.

“This is a family tragedy, not a political debate,” said Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, one of the few Republican lawmakers to publicly rebuke the president’s remarks. Others, speaking anonymously, said the statement crossed a line even by Mr. Trump’s standards.

Asked by reporters whether he stood by the post, Mr. Trump did not retreat. Instead, he reiterated his long-running grievances with Mr. Reiner, describing the filmmaker as “a deranged person” and revisiting disputes dating back to the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. “I was not a fan of Rob Reiner in any way, shape or form,” the president said, adding that he believed Mr. Reiner had been “very bad for our country.”

The response further fueled criticism, with observers noting that the president had turned a moment of national mourning into a personal political grievance. “The expectation that a president should act as consoler in chief has long faded,” said one former Republican strategist. “But even by today’s standards, this was jarring.”

Mr. Reiner was not only a towering figure in American film but also a prominent progressive voice, frequently warning that Mr. Trump posed a threat to democratic norms. In interviews abroad and at home, Mr. Reiner had argued that the United States’ global reputation had been damaged by rising polarization and harsh immigration policies.

Yet following the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk earlier this year, Mr. Reiner publicly condemned the violence, stating that political disagreements could never justify killing. In a widely circulated clip reposted after his death, Mr. Reiner praised Mr. Kirk’s widow for calling for forgiveness, invoking religious teachings about compassion.

That contrast — between Mr. Reiner’s response to a political opponent’s death and Mr. Trump’s response to his — became a focal point for critics.

Reaction online was mixed but notable for its tone. While some supporters defended the president or dismissed the controversy as media exaggeration, many comments on Mr. Trump’s own platform urged restraint. “Mr. President, enough,” several users wrote, according to an analysis by media monitors.

Despite the backlash, the White House’s rapid response team reposted the president’s remarks within minutes, signaling no internal effort to distance the administration from the statement.

The episode comes at a moment when polling suggests subtle but measurable shifts in Republican attitudes. While Mr. Trump retains strong support among GOP voters, recent surveys indicate a decline in the intensity of that support, with fewer self-identified Republicans saying they “strongly approve” of his performance compared with earlier this year.

Some political analysts argue that such moments create what they describe as a “permission structure” — an opening for Republicans to criticize the president without immediately facing backlash from the party base. “You’re seeing cracks, not a collapse,” said one Republican pollster. “But they’re cracks we didn’t see before.”

Democrats, for their part, seized on the remarks as evidence of what they describe as the president’s inability to separate personal animus from presidential responsibility. Several pointed to recent Democratic electoral gains in state and local races as signs of broader voter dissatisfaction.

For now, the controversy appears unlikely to produce lasting consequences within Congress, where Republican leadership has largely remained silent. But it has revived a familiar debate about the standards Americans expect from their highest office — particularly in moments of tragedy.

As one former lawmaker put it, “This wasn’t about policy or ideology. It was about decency. And that’s why it struck such a nerve.”

Whether the moment signals a turning point or merely another chapter in a long pattern of norm-breaking remains unclear. What is evident is that, even in a polarized era, there are still moments when words — especially presidential ones — carry consequences beyond politics.