What did Rob Reiner say verbatim about the Butler assassination attempt?

1. What the public record shows about Reiner’s reaction

Reporting assembled after Reiner’s death notes he had repeatedly spoken out against political violence; when conservative figures were attacked earlier in 2025 and following the reported assassination attempt on Trump in Butler in 2024, outlets summarize Reiner’s stance as expressing “absolute horror” and urging condemnation of politically motivated shootings ^[1]. Multiple outlets portray Reiner as a long‑time anti‑Trump activist whose public comments consistently rejected violence as a political response ^[1].

2. Where verbatim language is — and where it isn’t

The items available in the provided search results attribute strong condemnations of political violence to Reiner but do not include a complete, verbatim quotation specifically tied to the Butler shooting beyond the paraphrase “absolute horror” ^[1]. Therefore, any precise, word‑for‑word claim about what Reiner “said verbatim” about the Butler attempt is not found in current reporting supplied here ^[1].

3. Why paraphrases matter in news circulation

Major outlets frequently summarize public figures’ reactions with paraphrases (e.g., “expressed absolute horror”) rather than full quotes, especially in rapid‑turnaround pieces about breaking or retrospective events ^[1]. That pattern is visible in this coverage: journalists and aggregators report the tenor of Reiner’s response — condemnation of politically motivated shooting — instead of reproducing a single, extended statement verbatim ^[1].

4. Competing narratives after later events

After Reiner’s own killing in December 2025, political actors invoked his earlier comments to make wider arguments. Some on the left highlighted his anti‑violence statements as consistent with opposing extremism, while some right‑leaning voices and President Trump used Reiner’s long record of criticism to frame him differently; outlets report this cacophony but again rely on paraphrase and context rather than new verbatim lines from Reiner about Butler ^{[2] [3] [4]}. The reporting shows disagreement over the implications of Reiner’s activism, not about whether he condemned political violence ^{[2] [3]}.

5. How sources treated the Butler assault in relation to Reiner

At least one outlet explicitly links Reiner’s earlier public reactions — described as condemning the assassination attempt on Trump in Butler — to later political debate after Reiner’s death, but that outlet still uses summary language (“expressed ‘absolute horror’”) rather than quoting him directly ^[1]. Other media cited in the provided set focus on the political fallout after Reiner’s death, including reactions to tweets and posts that referenced his past statements; those stories reiterate his anti‑violence stance as context ^{[5] [2] [3]}.

6. Limitations and what’s not in these sources

Available sources do not include a transcript, a longer recorded statement, or a precise, attribution‑ready sentence from Reiner explicitly about the Butler attempt beyond paraphrase ^[1]. They also do not say that he used inflammatory language or advocated retaliation; all supplied reporting frames him as condemning politically motivated attacks ^[1]. If you need a word‑for‑word citation, current reporting supplied here does not provide it ^[1].

7. Takeaway for readers and researchers

The consistent fact across the cited reporting is that Rob Reiner publicly opposed political violence and reacted to attacks — including the Butler attempt on Trump — with horror and condemnation, summarized in sources as “absolute horror” ^[1]. For a verbatim quote attributed directly to Reiner about Butler, consult primary materials (video, audio, or a full interview transcript) not present in this set; those primary sources are not found in the reporting provided here ^[1].