What exactly did rob reiner say about the trump shooting and when were his first remarks made?

1. What Trump actually wrote and when — the social‑media post that started it

Trump’s initial public remarks came in a Truth Social post on the morning of Dec. 15, 2025. In that post he began by calling the deaths “a very sad thing” but immediately pivoted to attack Reiner, writing that Rob Reiner was “a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star” and asserting the couple died “reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME” ^{[1] [5]}. The post said Reiner “was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession” with Trump ^{[2] [1]}.

2. How Trump reinforced and expanded the remarks in person

Later the same day, speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump doubled down. He called Reiner “a deranged person,” said “I wasn’t a fan of Rob Reiner at all, in any way, shape or form,” and accused Reiner of having promoted the “Russian hoax,” claiming Reiner had “driven people CRAZY” and was “very bad for our country” ^{[3] [4] [6]}. Multiple outlets report he offered no evidence to link Reiner’s political views to the killings ^{[7] [8]}.

3. The immediate reaction: bipartisan outrage and descriptions of the comments

News organizations and lawmakers described Trump’s timing and tone as shocking and inappropriate. Reuters and AP say the post prompted “swift and bipartisan backlash” for politicizing a family tragedy ^{[7] [8]}. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie called it “inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered,” and several Republicans distanced themselves ^{[2] [9]}. Analyses in CNN and other outlets framed the remarks as a drastic departure from presidential norms of condolence ^{[10] [8]}.

4. Different framings across outlets — ridicule, defense and context

Coverage shows competing reactions. Outlets like Newsweek and Forbes reported the exact language of the Truth Social post and Trump’s repetition of the “Trump derangement syndrome” label, noting public revulsion ^{[1] [3]}. Conservative commentators and some MAGA influencers defended the president’s critique of a long‑time critic, while mainstream outlets characterized the remarks as crass and politically charged in the face of a murder investigation ^{[6] [5]}. Reuters and AP emphasize that the president provided no evidence for his causal implication ^{[7] [8]}.

5. What the reporting does — and does not — say about motive or causation

Multiple outlets explicitly note Trump’s suggestion that Reiner’s politics “caused” the killing but also stress there is no evidentiary link in public reporting; Reuters and AP say Trump “suggested without evidence” that Reiner’s anti‑Trump views contributed to his death ^{[7] [8]}. Coverage documents the arrest of the couple’s son and reporting on the murder investigation, but sources do not present proof that political criticism led to the killings; available sources do not mention any such evidence ^{[4] [11]}.

6. Why the timing mattered — trauma, other national violence and presidential norms

Analysts note the broader context: Reiner’s killing occurred amid other recent mass‑violence events and a high‑profile college shooting, heightening public sensitivity to leadership tone ^[10]. Commentators argue presidents are expected to offer condolence rather than partisan attacks after violent deaths; that normative claim frames much of the backlash ^{[10] [8]}.

Limitations and sourcing note: Every factual assertion above is drawn from the provided reporting: initial Truth Social text and on‑camera remarks ^{[1] [3]}, contemporaneous reporting of reactions and lack of evidence for causation ^{[7] [8]}, and analysis pieces about norms and context ^[10]. If you want, I can compile the exact quoted lines in chronological order with the outlets and timestamps cited from these same sources.