CNBC’s Sorkin Presses a Waffling Mike Johnson on Trump’s Reiner Comments: ‘You Can Hold Two Ideas in Your Head’

CNBC host Andrew Ross Sorkin pressed Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to respond to some cruel remarks from President Donald Trump.

On Wednesday’s Squawk Box, Sorkin pointed to Trump’s comments about film director Rob Reiner, who was found stabbed to death with his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, in their home on Sunday. Their son, Nick Reiner, has been charged with first-degree murder.

Trump responded to the killings by claiming that Rob Reiner, a prominent liberal activist, suffered from “Trump Derangement Syndrome” and was responsible for his own murder. When asked about the remarks in the Oval Office, the president doubled down and called the filmmaker “a deranged person.”

Speaking with Johnson, Sorkin noted that the speaker had declined to condemn Trump’s comments when asked about them on Monday.

“[Y]ou didn’t answer it earlier this week,” Sorkin said. “And I think in a moment like this, when the country sees something like this and then sees the president make these comments, and then you were asked about them and didn’t comment on them. So, I wanted to hear your thoughts.”

“Well, I did comment at length,” Johnson replied. “They just didn’t replay that part. No surprise here, Capitol Hill press corps. But what I said was straight from the heart. I heard about it coming out of an event in the morning when the news broke. And my comment was that, I mean, obviously it’s an unspeakable family tragedy. And the Reiner family, I mean, just a horrible thing to think of.”

Johnson went on to cite scripture before Sorkin tried to refocus Johnson’s attention on the prompt:

SORKIN: But what about the president’s comments, Speaker? I think you can hold two ideas in your head at the same time, and say that you can praise the president about many things, and you can condemn the president’s comments about certain things. And in this case, I’m asking you about that.”

JOHNSON: Yeah. Look, I know. I’m asked to give running commentary on everything that the president says every five minutes of the day, as well as all of my colleagues here. And yes, we got many ideas at the same time. I don’t communicate the same way. I am my own person, and I speak, you know, from my voice. And the president and I address issues differently sometimes. That’s not the way I would have done it. It’s not the way I have done it. You know, that’s that’s my comment on it. I don’t know what else I can say.

Less than 24 hours before his death, Rob reportedly got into a shouting match with Nick at a party hosted by Conan O’Brien. The younger Reiner reportedly was asked to leave after asking partygoers who they were and whether they were famous.

Watch above via CNBC.

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