What did Rob Reiner actually say about the 2024 Butler shooting and where is the primary source recording?
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Executive summary
Rob Reiner did not tell reporters that he wished the 2024 Butler, Pennsylvania, would‑be assassin “hadn't missed”; multiple fact‑checks found no evidence he ever made that statement and a family source called the claim “nonsense” [1]. The verifiable public record shows Reiner publicly condemning political violence — most clearly in a recorded interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored where he said violent attacks are unacceptable — and that recording is the primary on‑the‑record source cited by news organizations [1] [2].
1. What the false claim says and why it matters
A viral allegation circulating after Rob Reiner’s death claimed he had once said he wished the man who shot President Trump in Butler in 2024 “hadn’t missed,” a quote used by some to justify attacks on Reiner’s reputation and to frame his murder as retribution; Lead Stories and other fact‑checkers found no evidence Reiner ever uttered that line and reported a family source calling the charge “nonsense” [1]. The distinction matters because repeating an unsubstantiated, inflammatory quote reshapes public reaction to Reiner’s killing and was seized on by political actors to argue motive or to deflect criticism of crude responses to the homicide [3] [4].
2. What Reiner actually said about political violence
The documented, on‑record comments from Reiner show the opposite of the fabricated line: when asked about politically motivated attacks such as the killing of conservative figure Charlie Kirk, Reiner expressed “absolute horror,” saying “That should never happen to anybody” and that violence is not an answer regardless of political views [1] [2]. Major outlets — including NBC, People and other coverage citing that interview — report Reiner’s explicit anti‑violence stance in response to such shootings [5] [2].
3. Where the primary source recording is and how outlets used it
News reporting identifies Reiner’s appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored as the primary recorded source for his remarks condemning violence; clips from that interview were publicly shared by Piers Morgan and cited by fact‑checkers and mainstream outlets when rebutting the fabricated quote [1] [2]. Lead Stories and People point to that interview as the verifiable source for Reiner’s “absolute horror” comment, and news organizations relied on that recording to contextualize his public views [1] [2].
4. Counterclaims, political framing, and the evidentiary gap
Despite the lack of evidence for the incendiary quote, some political figures — notably President Trump — framed Reiner’s murder as connected to his anti‑Trump views and used that framing to attack Reiner posthumously; news organizations reported broad bipartisan backlash to that politicization [4] [3]. While many outlets documented Reiner’s donations and outspoken criticism of Trump as factual background, the claim that Reiner publicly celebrated an assassination attempt remains unsupported by the primary recording and was specifically debunked by fact‑checkers and family contacts [1] [5].
5. Bottom line and where to look next
The verifiable record shows Rob Reiner publicly condemned politically motivated shootings — his Piers Morgan Uncensored interview is the primary source for those remarks — and there is no substantiated recording or contemporaneous reporting that he said he wished the Butler shooter had succeeded; fact‑checkers investigated the claim and found it baseless, with a family source describing it as “nonsense” [1] [2]. If locating the original recording is required, journalists and researchers should look for the Piers Morgan Uncensored episode and the clip shared by Piers Morgan, which mainstream outlets referenced when rebutting the false attribution [1] [2].