💥 SHOCKWAVES ON CABLE TV: FOX NEWS FINALLY TURNS ON DONALD TRUMP — ONE UNTHINKABLE COMMENT SPARKS A RARE BREAK, INSIDERS WHISPER THIS RIFT MAY BE IRREVERSIBLE ⚡

WASHINGTON — Condemnation of Donald Trump from political opponents has long been routine. What is far less common — and therefore more consequential — is criticism that comes from within his own political ecosystem. That is what made the reaction to Mr. Trump’s recent remarks about the killing of filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, Michelle Singer, so striking.

After news broke that Mr. Reiner and his wife had been brutally murdered in their Los Angeles home, allegedly by their own son, Mr. Trump responded not with condolences but with an attack. In comments posted online and later repeated publicly, he suggested the tragedy was connected to what he called “Trump derangement syndrome,” reviving a phrase he has often used to dismiss critics.

The response was immediate and unusually broad. Lawmakers from both parties described the comments as inappropriate. More notable still, voices from conservative media — including Fox News, a network long associated with sympathetic coverage of Mr. Trump — openly criticized the president’s tone.

“There’s a time and a place for politics,” one Fox News panelist said during an on-air discussion. “A family tragedy like this is not that time.” Another added that the remarks were “beneath the office” of the presidency, language rarely used by commentators on the network when discussing Mr. Trump.

The criticism marked a departure from the pattern that has defined much of Mr. Trump’s political career, in which controversial statements are either defended or quickly reframed by allies. This time, several Republican lawmakers declined to do so. Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana said the president should not have commented at all, warning that such statements distract from policy goals and diminish the dignity of the office.

Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky went further, calling the remarks “inappropriate and disrespectful” regardless of one’s political views. Even Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a frequent defender of Mr. Trump, wrote that the deaths were “a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies.”

The episode unfolded against a backdrop of heightened concern about political violence in the United States. Over the past year, the country has seen a series of deadly incidents involving public figures and their families, prompting renewed calls for restraint in political rhetoric. Critics argued that Mr. Trump’s response did the opposite, inserting partisan grievance into a moment that demanded empathy.

Mr. Trump, for his part, doubled down. When asked by reporters whether he stood by his comments, he reiterated his long-standing grievances against Mr. Reiner, a prominent liberal activist and outspoken critic of the former president. Mr. Reiner, the son of the late comedy legend Carl Reiner, had spent years denouncing Mr. Trump as unfit for office. Mr. Trump framed that criticism as justification for his remarks, a move that further inflamed the backlash.

For Fox News, the on-air rebuke was especially notable. The network has often been accused by critics of normalizing or excusing Mr. Trump’s most provocative statements. Yet in this case, multiple commentators emphasized that moral boundaries had been crossed. One anchor described Mr. Reiner as “a mensch” and an “everyman,” noting that political differences did not diminish the human tragedy of his death.

The reaction has fueled broader questions about Mr. Trump’s standing within his own party. Recent polling suggests that while he retains strong support among Republican voters, enthusiasm has softened. Analysts note that criticism from conservative media can create what political scientists call a “permission structure,” allowing voters and lawmakers to express dissent without feeling they are betraying their political identity.

Whether this moment represents a lasting shift remains unclear. Mr. Trump has weathered similar storms before, often emerging politically unscathed. But the convergence of condemnation — from Fox News, from Republican lawmakers, and from conservative commentators — underscores a growing unease about his rhetorical instincts.

For many observers, the controversy is less about a single statement than about a pattern. Mr. Trump has long responded to tragedy by redirecting attention to himself, his grievances, and his enemies. What changed this time was the willingness of allies to say, publicly, that enough was enough.

As the nation continues to grapple with political polarization and violence, the episode has revived an old question in Washington: What standards, if any, still bind those who hold the highest office? For a brief moment, at least, the answer appeared to come not from Mr. Trump’s critics, but from his own side.