Congressional Cowards is a weekly series highlighting the worst Donald Trump defenders on Capitol Hill, who refuse to criticize him—no matter how disgraceful or lawless his actions.
In yet another sign that Donald Trump is the lamest of lame duck presidents, this week GOP lawmakers not only refused to defend his despicable comments about the murder of Hollywood legend Rob Reiner, but they actually called Trump out.
From vulnerable House Republicans—likely looking for an acceptable place to distance themselves from Trump as they seek to survive in what’s expected to be a blue wave in 2026—to Republicans in safe seats, almost all said that Trump blaming Reiner and his wife Michelle’s brutal murder on Reiner’s anti-Trump activism was unacceptable.
Even more shocking is that a number of the Republicans who commented did it without being prompted, deciding on their own that they had to call out Trump’s deranged Truth Social post.
“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,” Rep. Stephanie Bice, who represents an Oklahoma district Trump carried by nearly 18 points, wrote in a post on X in response to Trump’s comment. “Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.”
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“This statement is wrong,” Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) wrote in a post on X in response to a tweet from Trump’s own White House, which amplified Trump’s remarks. “Regardless of one’s political views, no one should be subjected to violence, let alone at the hands of their own son. It’s a horrible tragedy that should engender sympathy and compassion from everyone in our country, period.”
Now-frequent Trump critic Rep. Thomas Massie also said Trump’s comment went too far.
“Regardless of how you felt about Rob Reiner, this is inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered,” the Kentucky Republican wrote in a post on X. “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. John Kennedy (R-LA) also said Trump’s post was wrong.
“A wise man sometimes says nothing, because he’s a wise man. I think the president should have said nothing,” Kennedy told reporters. “I think when he makes comments like that, it distracts from his policy achievements and his agenda, and just speaking personally, in America, you can say what you want, but just speaking personally, when another human being is murdered or was the case with Mr. Kirk, assassinated, I think all of us should show them, regardless of their political beliefs, and their families respect.”
Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, who seems to have no more fucks to give now that he’s retiring from the House, also slammed Trump.
“I’d expect to hear something like this from a drunk guy at a bar, not the President of the United States. Can the President be presidential?” Bacon told CNN’s Jake Tapper, the answer to that rhetorical question of course being no.
Sen. Ted Cruz also refused to defend Trump’s comments. The Texas Republican told reporters, “Mental health is an issue that doesn’t know partisan lines. I think every family in America has dealt with mental health and dealt with addiction, and I grieve that in this instance, it appears to have cost Rob Reiner and his wife their life.”
Even Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who once harassed survivors of the Parkland school shooting, said Trump’s comments were beyond the pale.
“I thought that statement was absolutely completely below the office of the president of the United States, classless, and it was just wrong,” Greene told CNN.
Related | Trump is cool with disrespecting the dead if they’re Democrats
Of course, there was still one Republican who was willing to debase himself in the name of Dear Leader: Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, who appears frequently in Congressional Cowards.
“He was respectful to him, said he was once a really good actor and all that, and pointed out the fact that he didn’t like him at all … I don’t think it was distasteful at all,” Mullin said, without a hint of shame. “The guy does not like Trump and President Trump went out and still ended it in a very nice way.”
But aside from Mullin’s morally bankrupt defense of Trump, Republicans couldn’t bring themselves to defend Dear Leader this time—a telling sign that as Trump’s popularity continues to sink, threatening the GOP’s congressional majorities, Republicans may now be looking for ways to distance themselves from their orange messiah.
Still, we won’t hold our breath for the GOP to defy Trump in legislative battles when it actually matters.
Republicans are still cowards, after all.
Emily Singer
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