What did rob weiner say about Charlie kirk

Checked on December 17, 2025
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Executive summary

Rob Reiner publicly condemned the September shooting of Charlie Kirk as “an absolute horror” and said “that should never happen to anybody,” and he praised Kirk’s widow Erika Kirk for forgiving the assailant at the memorial [1] [2]. Clips of Reiner’s remarks — from a Sept. 26 appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored — resurfaced and went viral after Reiner’s own killing, prompting commentators to contrast his response with President Trump’s later attacks on Reiner [3] [4] [5].

1. What Reiner actually said: empathy, horror and forgiveness

In an interview on Piers Morgan’s show, Reiner described footage and reports of Charlie Kirk’s assassination as “an absolute horror,” explicitly condemning the violence and saying it “should never happen to anybody,” and he commended Erika Kirk’s public forgiveness of the accused shooter at the memorial service [1] [2]. Multiple outlets — Snopes, Consequence, Hindustan Times and others — verified the authenticity of the clip and reported the same core lines from that September exchange [3] [1] [6].

2. Why those remarks resurfaced: timing and political contrast

Reiner’s comments reappeared online and went viral after the news of his and his wife’s deaths, in part because users and public figures contrasted his compassion following Kirk’s murder with President Trump’s subsequent mocking and political attacks aimed at Reiner after Reiner’s killing [4] [7]. News organizations flagged the juxtaposition: Reiner’s empathetic posture toward a political opponent was used by many to criticize what they termed a harsher, politicized response from some on the right [8] [9].

3. How stakeholders framed the exchange — competing narratives

Supporters of Kirk and conservative media amplified Reiner’s remarks as evidence of his decency; Andrew Kolvet of Turning Point USA and others shared the clip praising Reiner’s “grace and compassion” [7] [9]. At the same time, Trump allies argued the president’s reaction to Reiner’s death was consistent with his own long-standing political posture and defended his comments; news outlets reported GOP unease and some Republicans publicly criticizing the tone of the president’s post [10] [5].

4. Verification and fact-checking: what reporters confirm

Fact-checkers and mainstream outlets agree the Piers Morgan interview is authentic and that Reiner used compassionate language toward the victim’s family and condemned the killing [3] [1]. Coverage from The Guardian, Los Angeles Times and PBS likewise summarize Reiner’s words as empathetic while situating them in the broader political fallout over reactions to Kirk’s assassination [11] [12] [5].

5. Broader context: politicization of violence and double standards claims

Reporting notes a pattern: after Kirk’s shooting, many on the right denounced celebratory social posts and sought consequences for those who praised the violence; critics now argue there’s an inconsistency in how political actors responded when Reiner became the victim [8] [5]. Journalists highlighted comments from figures such as Jenna Ellis and other conservatives pointing to a perceived double standard in public outrage and punishment [5] [13].

6. Limitations and what sources don’t say

Available sources do not mention any extended transcript beyond the cited lines from the Piers Morgan interview, nor do they provide new, undisputed statements from Reiner beyond the verified clip [3] [1]. Sources do not report Reiner endorsing any policy prescriptions or broader political rhetoric tied to Kirk’s activism; they focus on his immediate human response to the killing [6] [7].

7. Why this matters: public memory and political theater

The resurfacing of Reiner’s remarks illustrates how brief, humane statements can be repurposed as moral counterpoints in polarized debates; outlets from Axios to The Hill and The Guardian used the clip to critique political reactions and to highlight perceived hypocrisy [2] [9] [11]. Whether readers view Reiner’s words as proof of character or as a media moment depends on which narrators amplify them — and those choices shape how the public judges subsequent political conduct [4] [8].

Sources cited above consist of contemporaneous reporting and fact-checking from Snopes, Axios, The Guardian, Consequence, Hindustan Times, The Hill, PBS, Los Angeles Times and related outlets as reflected in the search results [3] [2] [11] [1] [6] [9] [5] [12].

Want to dive deeper?
What specific comments did Rob Weiner make about Charlie Kirk and when were they said?
Has Rob Weiner accused Charlie Kirk of spreading misinformation or political extremism?
How have Charlie Kirk and his supporters responded to statements from Rob Weiner?
What is Rob Weiner's background and history of commenting on conservative activists like Charlie Kirk?
Have major media outlets or fact-checkers analyzed Rob Weiner's claims about Charlie Kirk?