'Indefensible': Former Trump advisor warns Reiner screeds could harm GOP in the midterms

A former advisor to Donald Trump joined the chorus of voices slamming the president's controversial comments about the death of filmmaker Rob Reiner, calling them "indefensible" and warning of the impact of such conduct on the 2026 midterms.

Reiner, best known for directing classic films like The Princess Bride and This Is Spinal Tap, was found stabbed to death alongside his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, in the couple's Los Angeles home. The pair's son, Nick Reiner, was later arrested and charged in connection with their deaths. In a Truth Social post from Monday, Trump suggested that Reiner, an outspoken critic of the president and lifelong advocate for Democratic politics, was killed as a result of "Trump Derangement Syndrome."

This post kicked off a firestorm of controversy, with figures across the political spectrum slamming Trump's comment as insensitive and self-obsessed. During a CNN appearance on Monday, his former advisor, David Urban, had a similar assessment of the post.

“It’s a terrible tragedy that they’ve suffered here, and the president’s tweets — his Truth Social post — is indefensible by anybody," Urban said during an appearance on The Source. "I don’t know how anyone can defend it."

Urban also said that "the president had the opportunity, was given the opportunity this afternoon, to clean it up," referring to a White House press conference in which Trump was pressed about his comments and asked if he would take them back. Trump refused and added that Reiner, in his view, had been "very bad for our country."

Urban lamented the attention Trump's post would take away from some of his administration's accomplishments, saying that he was "just saddening because the president does a lot of good things, this administration does lots of good things, but yet these kinds of posts, these kinds of actions by the president detract from all of that.” He also warned that the post and other conduct in a similar vein would do the GOP a disservice in the upcoming midterm elections, at a time when the party can hardly afford to face more headwinds.

"I think the president forgot elections are about addition, one plus one plus one, and as we head into the midterms, I’m wondering how many Republicans were added to the voter rolls today," Urban said. "I think none."

Urban's history with Trump has been on the electoral side, working as a senior advisor for his 2016 presidential campaign, with his success in the role once making him a serious White House Chief of Staff candidate. He also returned to work on Trump's failed 2020 reelection campaign.