What public statements did rob reiner make immediately after the 2024 assassination attempt on trump?
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Executive summary
President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that Rob Reiner’s death was “reportedly due to the anger he caused others” and accused Reiner of having “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” then repeated similar language to reporters in the Oval Office calling Reiner “a deranged person” [1] [2]. The remarks drew immediate bipartisan condemnation, including from Republicans such as Rep. Thomas Massie and others who called the post inappropriate and politicizing a tragedy [3] [4].
1. What Trump said first — a social‑media post that politicized a killing
Within hours of news that Rob Reiner and his wife had been found dead, Trump posted on Truth Social characterizing the deaths as “very sad” but then attacking Reiner personally, saying Reiner “was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump” and suggesting the fatality was “reportedly due to the anger he caused others” and linking it to “TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME” [1] [5]. Major outlets quoted the post word‑for‑word and flagged the claim as unsubstantiated [5] [1].
2. He doubled down in person — Oval Office comments
Hours after the Truth Social post, Trump reiterated the critique to reporters in the Oval Office, calling Reiner “a deranged person,” saying he “was not a fan of Rob Reiner at all, in any way, shape or form,” and repeating allegations that Reiner had promoted the Russia collusion narrative [2] [3]. News organizations noted Trump offered no evidence linking Reiner’s political views to the killing [2] [6].
3. Immediate reaction — bipartisan outrage and Republican rebukes
Reporting shows the post provoked swift backlash across the political spectrum. Prominent Republicans — Rep. Thomas Massie, Rep. Don Bacon and others — publicly condemned the president’s remarks as inappropriate and disrespectful in light of the deaths [3] [4]. Media coverage highlighted that even some on the right had urged compassion rather than politicization, recalling prior calls for civil discourse after other political killings [7] [8].
4. How outlets described the remarks — “baseless,” “politicizing,” “shocking”
Major national outlets characterized Trump’s comments as baseless and as an attempt to politicize an apparent homicide. The New York Times and NBC framed the president’s statement as seizing on the killing to attack a critic without evidence; AP called the accusation “unsubstantiated” and noted the shocking nature of the post amid an ongoing investigation [5] [9] [6]. Variety, Time and other outlets quoted the Truth Social text and documented Trump’s follow‑up Oval Office comment [1] [10].
5. Context about the case and why media scrutiny escalated
Reporting emphasized why the remarks were especially controversial: police had arrested the Reiners’ son in connection with the deaths and investigators were treating the matter as a homicide, so linking the killings to Reiner’s politics contradicted known facts reported by law enforcement and risked misinforming the public [3] [11]. News organizations repeatedly note Trump provided no evidence for causation between Reiner’s political views and the killing [2] [6].
6. Competing perspectives and the limits of current reporting
Some conservative voices defended or downplayed Trump’s post by pointing to Reiner’s long record of vocal opposition to the president, while other MAGA influencers and Republicans urged restraint and compassion [8] [9]. Available sources do not mention any corroborating evidence that Reiner’s politics caused the killing; outlets uniformly report the claim as unsubstantiated and note the son’s arrest [3] [6].
7. Why this matters — political rhetoric and public safety
News coverage framed the episode as an example of how instant presidential commentary can shape public understanding of violent events and inflame partisan divisions, drawing broad concern about presidential rhetoric after political killings and its potential to undermine calls for civility [7] [4]. Multiple outlets stressed the practical consequence: the president’s public accusations diverted attention from an active investigation and generated cross‑aisle condemnation [5] [6].
Limitations: this summary relies solely on the provided reporting; it does not include any primary social‑media posts beyond quoted excerpts in those sources, and available sources do not mention forensic findings or final investigative conclusions beyond the reported arrest [3] [11].