What did Rob Reiner specifically say about the shooting incidents involving Donald Trump and Charlie Kirk?
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Executive summary
Rob Reiner’s publicly recorded remarks concern the September shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk: he described the killing as “absolute horror,” condemned political violence regardless of ideology, and said “I don’t care what your political beliefs are… that’s not acceptable,” while praising Kirk’s widow for her forgiveness [1] [2] [3]. Reporting reviewed does not produce an authenticated quote from Reiner responding to any separate shooting of Donald Trump; contemporary coverage instead highlights how Reiner’s Kirk comments have been resurfaced amid criticism of President Trump’s mocking remarks about Reiner’s own death [4] [5] [6].
1. Reiner’s immediate reaction to Charlie Kirk’s shooting: “absolute horror”
In interviews after the Utah attack that killed Charlie Kirk, Rob Reiner said he felt “absolute horror,” said he had “unfortunately” seen video of the shooting, and emphasized that the killing was unacceptable no matter the victim’s politics — a line captured in multiple reports recounting his Piers Morgan and other interviews [1] [2] [4]. Entertainment Weekly and Axios both quote Reiner directly saying, “I don’t care what your political beliefs are… that’s not acceptable,” framing his response as a moral repudiation of political violence rather than partisan gloating [1] [2].
2. Reiner invoked forgiveness and moral teachings when discussing the aftermath
Reiner publicly praised Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, for her response at a memorial, invoking Christian ethics and the “do unto others” idea even while noting his own Jewish background; he described her forgiveness as “beautiful” and “admirable,” using it to illustrate why retaliatory rhetoric and celebration of violence are wrong [3] [4]. Multiple outlets that resurfaced the clip after Reiner’s own death emphasized that he urged people to speak out against violence and to avoid treating political enemies as legitimate targets [2] [7].
3. No sourced Reiner quote about a shooting of Donald Trump appears in the reviewed reporting
The materials provided and contemporaneous coverage focus on Reiner’s statements about Charlie Kirk and on reactions to President Trump’s later comments about Reiner’s death; none of the cited pieces supply a verified Reiner quote reacting to a separate shooting of Donald Trump [4] [8]. Some headlines and trending items reference “what the late filmmaker said when Donald Trump was shot in Butler,” but the body of reporting cited here does not reproduce an authenticated Reiner remark about a Trump shooting, and Snopes and other outlets emphasize the specific, verifiable Reiner quotes are about Kirk [4] [8].
4. Why these Kirk remarks are being replayed now — contrast and accusation of hypocrisy
News outlets and commentators have resurfaced Reiner’s Kirk comments to highlight a contrast with President Trump’s public reaction to Reiner’s killing: critics point to the director’s unequivocal condemnation of political violence while noting that Trump’s posts and remarks about Reiner’s death were widely condemned as mocking or celebratory, prompting charges of a double standard given the administration’s prior denunciations of those who celebrated Kirk’s murder [5] [6] [9]. Conservative and pro-Trump voices have sought to defend the president or to argue context, but many Republicans and commentators publicly expressed discomfort with Trump’s wording and acknowledged the awkward mirror to the post-Kirk debate over civility [9] [10].
5. Competing narratives, agendas and the limits of the record
Media outlets are using Reiner’s Kirk comments to make normative points about civility, and critics of Trump emphasize the contrast; defenders argue the president’s remarks were within free-speech latitude or contextual critique of Reiner’s public persona [6] [10]. It is important to note the reporting assembled here documents Reiner’s remarks about Charlie Kirk clearly, but does not substantiate a separate, attributable Reiner statement about any shooting of Donald Trump — where such a quote is claimed, the sources reviewed either do not reproduce it or identify it ambiguously [4] [8]. Given those limits, the factual answer is constrained: Reiner publicly condemned Kirk’s killing and urged forgiveness and nonviolence; claims that he also made specific comments about a Trump shooting are not corroborated in these sources [1] [2] [3].