Which assassination attempt was Rob Reiner referring to and when did it occur?
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Executive summary
Rob Reiner’s public remarks were about the widely reported public assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10, 2025 — a reference several outlets connect to Reiner’s later comments showing “grace and compassion” after that killing [1] [2]. Multiple conservative and right-leaning posts have cited a clip of Reiner responding to Kirk’s murder; reporting ties that clip to reactions after Reiner’s own death on Dec. 14, 2025 [1] [2] [3].
1. Which assassination attempt Reiner was referring to — the public attack on Charlie Kirk
Available reporting identifies the incident Reiner discussed as the public assassination of Charlie Kirk, which occurred on Sept. 10, 2025; a clip circulated showing Reiner offering “wise and compassionate words” in the aftermath [1]. Right-leaning outlets and social posts repeatedly cited that specific exchange to underscore Reiner’s public stance after Kirk’s killing [1] [4].
2. How this link has been used in posthumous coverage
After Rob Reiner and his wife were found dead on Dec. 14, 2025, commentators on both left and right highlighted that clip to frame his response to political violence — some citing it to argue Reiner consistently practiced the compassion he preached, others using it to criticize perceived hypocrisy in national discourse [1] [2]. Conservative platforms and MAGA influencers contrasted Reiner’s response to Kirk’s assassination with the reaction of some on the right when other public figures were targeted [2].
3. What primary sources say about Reiner’s comment
The direct provenance of the clip is described in several outlets as a public interview or appearance in which Reiner addressed the public assassination of Charlie Kirk and responded with forgiveness and compassion; that clip has been reshared widely since Reiner’s death [1] [4]. Multiple articles and social posts explicitly quote Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet sharing the video and praising Reiner’s words [1] [4].
4. Timeline and context around both events
Charlie Kirk’s public assassination is dated in reporting to Sept. 10, 2025, and that incident prompted a wave of media commentary and social-post circulation that included Reiner’s statement [1]. Reiner and his wife were found dead in their Brentwood home on Dec. 14, 2025; their son Nick was arrested and later held on suspicion of murder — coverage of the Reiner deaths repeatedly referenced the earlier Kirk-related clip as part of the cultural conversation [3] [5] [6].
5. Competing uses and political framing after Reiner’s death
News organizations and opinion outlets documented two competing narratives: some on the right condemned President Trump for mocking Reiner after the killings, invoking the Kirk-assassination clip to show Reiner’s restraint and humanity; others on the right defended criticism of Reiner given his long record of anti-Trump activism [7] [2] [8]. Axios and CNN pieces note the clip’s use both to demand compassion and to highlight perceived double standards in reactions to political violence [2] [8].
6. What reporting does not say (limitations in the record)
Available sources do not provide the full original transcript or video metadata for Reiner’s comments, nor do they detail every venue or date where he made those remarks beyond being described as “in one of his final interviews” or in a shared clip [1]. Reporting links the remarks to Reiner’s response to Kirk’s Sept. 10 assassination but does not quote the complete exchange verbatim in every article [1] [4].
7. Why this matters — agendas and media dynamics
The resurfacing of Reiner’s response to Kirk’s assassination highlights how short clips are repurposed to score political points after a news shock; sources on the right shared the video to promote a narrative of Reiner’s compassion, while some conservative figures used the moment to defend or attack reactions across the political spectrum [1] [2] [9]. Both sympathetic and critical outlets cited the same clip to support different conclusions, underscoring how a single public statement can be reframed to fit divergent agendas [1] [2].
If you want, I can pull the exact quotes from the shared clip as quoted by Andrew Kolvet and others in the cited pieces [1] [4], or compile the timeline of social posts that circulated the video after Sept. 10, 2025 [1] [2].