What exact words did rob reiner post on social media after the attempted assassination of trump in pennsylvania?

Checked on December 16, 2025
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Executive summary

President Trump posted on Truth Social that “A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood. Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, 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,” a formulation quoted verbatim by multiple news outlets [1] [2]. That post prompted widespread bipartisan condemnation and multiple media outlets reproduced the same language in reporting on the reaction [3] [4].

1. What exactly Trump posted — the wording reported by outlets

Multiple outlets quoted the same Truth Social text attributed to President Trump. Variety and The New York Times reproduced the statement in full: “A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood. Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, 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,” sometimes noting the phrase is also abbreviated as “TDS” [1] [2].

2. How major outlets characterized the post

News organizations characterized the post as an inflammatory, politicized reaction to a violent family tragedy and reported immediate backlash from Democrats and Republicans alike. The Washington Post and The New York Times both said Trump posited the killing was linked to Reiner’s criticism of him, and described the post as drawing immediate outrage [4] [2]. Forbes and Axios likewise highlighted that the claim was unsubstantiated and prompted criticism from lawmakers [3] [5].

3. Political and public reaction documented in reporting

Coverage shows a cross‑section of responses: conservatives and MAGA influencers expressed dismay or defended Trump in some quarters, while other Republicans publicly rebuked him. Rep. Thomas Massie called the post “inappropriate and disrespectful” [6] [3]. Media coverage recorded that some on the right condemned celebrating or mocking a death after the assassination of Charlie Kirk; others tried to justify or contextualize Trump’s remarks [5] [7].

4. Context about the Reiner deaths that reporters included

Reporting made clear the facts about the deaths as known to police: Rob Reiner and his wife were found dead in Los Angeles and investigators were treating the incident as a homicide with the couple’s adult son, Nick Reiner, taken into custody on a murder charge, per multiple outlets [4] [3]. Coverage noted authorities had released limited information about motive [4].

5. Why the exact wording matters — how reporters used it

Outlets reproduced the post verbatim to document the president’s framing that Reiner’s death was “reportedly due to the anger he caused others” and to show how Trump framed political opposition as a “mind‑crippling disease” called “TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.” Reporters used the exact language to demonstrate the departure from typical presidential condolence norms and to explain the scale of backlash [1] [2].

6. Disagreements, caveats and what sources do not say

News reports uniformly describe the president’s language and the ensuing outrage; they also repeatedly label the claim connecting Reiner’s criticism of Trump to the murder as unsubstantiated by investigators [6] [3]. Available sources do not mention any police finding or public evidence that the deaths were caused by Reiner’s political views or that “Trump Derangement Syndrome” was a motive [4]. Available sources do not mention any retraction or deletion of the quoted Truth Social post in the reports provided [1] [2].

7. Takeaway for readers

If you are looking for the exact words attributed to Trump, major outlets repeatedly quote the Truth Social passage above and treat it as the president’s public post [1] [2]. Reporters and lawmakers framed the statement as politicizing a homicide and emphasized that the claim linking political criticism to motive is unproven by law enforcement at the time of reporting [6] [4].

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