Joe Rogan recently criticized Donald Trump for his insensitive response to the murder of filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele. On his popular podcast, Joe Rogan Experience, the UFC commentator expressed his disapproval of the former president’s reaction.
The tragic incident occurred on December 14, when Reiner, 78, and his wife, 70, were found dead in what authorities ruled as homicides. Their son, Nick Reiner, 32, was subsequently arrested in connection with the crime. However, Trump, 79, chose to use the moment to make a controversial statement, claiming that Reiner had succumbed to “Trump derangement syndrome.”
Rogan, 58, was not amused by Trump’s remarks, which he felt were an inappropriate jab at the late director’s openly left-leaning political views. During a Christmas Day episode of his podcast, Rogan shared his thoughts with guest comedian Shane Gillis, 38, emphasizing that the situation was far from humorous.
“The Rob Reiner thing is not funny,” Rogan stated, highlighting his dismay at Trump’s lack of empathy in addressing the filmmaker’s death. The podcast host made it clear that he found Trump’s response to be distasteful and lacking in compassion.
‘The Rob Reiner thing is not funny,’ Rogan told his guest, comedian Shane Gillis, 38, during the episode that aired on Christmas Day.
He said that he saw ‘no empathy’ coming from Trump during his attack on Reiner.
‘I wish he could apologize,’ Gillis replied. ‘I know he can’t and he won’t but -‘
Rogan continued: ‘There’s no justification for what he did that makes any sense in a compassionate society.
Joe Rogan addressed the president’s reaction to the tragedy on his podcast
Donald Trump said that Reiner died from ‘Trump derangement syndrome’ on Truth Social
Rob Reiner was killed inside his mansion alongside his wife earlier this month
‘It’s no different than people celebrating when Charlie Kirk got shot.’
The podcaster went on to ask Gillis to consider what would have happened if former President Barack Obama had acted in the same brazen manner as Trump.
‘That would be crazy. It just shows you how crazy it is, the way Trump thinks and talks,’ Rogan asserted.
‘The guy just got sliced up by his kid, you know? Anybody that doesn’t see that and go, “F**k, man,” you know…’ he added before trailing off.
Reiner and Michele were discovered fatally stabbed in their bed at their stunning mansion in the ritzy Los Angeles neighborhood of Brentwood.
Their troubled son, Nick – who has a history of violence and substance abuse – was arrested later the same day.
Soon after the news broke, Trump took to social media with his head-turning take on the tragedy.
‘A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood,’ Trump wrote the next morning.
Trump took to social media with his head-turning take on Reiner’s death
Charlie Kirk was fatally shot at a Utah Valley University rally in September. Rogan said mocking Reiner’s death was ‘no different than people celebrating when Charlie Kirk got shot’
‘Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS.’
Trump claimed that Reiner had a ‘raging obsession’ with him, ‘with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before.’
‘May Rob and Michele rest in peace,’ he ended off the rambling message.
As Rogan explained during the Christmas episode, Reiner had made it his ‘mission to try and get Trump out of office’ since his first presidential term.
Reiner was known not only for his Hollywood contributions but also for his liberal, anti-Trump activism.
In a 2017 Variety interview, Reiner called Trump ‘mentally unfit’ to serve as the president of the US.
‘Donald Trump is the single most unqualified human being to ever assume the presidency of the United States,’ he said.
‘He is mentally unfit. Not only does he not understand how government works, he has no interest in trying to find out how it works.’
Michele and Reiner’s deaths on were ruled homicides. Their bodies were found on December 14
Nick Reiner has been arrested in connection to his parents’ murders
In 2023, while Trump was running the Oval Office for a third time, Reiner told MS Now that he ‘tells you he’s going to govern like an authoritarian.’
Reiner told The Guardian that Trump ‘wants to destroy the Constitution, go after his political enemies and turn America into an autocracy in February of last year.
As recently as October, Reiner told MS Now that Trump was fostering a political environment that would allow for ‘full-on autocracy.’
However, despite their apparent political differences, Reiner did not mock Turning Point USA co-founder Kirk, 31, after he was assassinated at Utah Valley University on September 10.
On Piers Morgan’s Uncensored show, Reiner called Kirk’s death an ‘absolute horror.’
‘I unfortunately saw the video of it,’ Reiner said. ‘It’s beyond belief what happened to him.’
He continued: ‘I don’t care what your political beliefs are. That’s not acceptable. That’s not a solution to solving problems.’
