Popular podcaster Joe Rogan has publicly condemned former US President Donald Trump for his controversial reaction to the brutal murders of Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele. Rogan labelled Trump's remarks, which joked that Reiner died from 'Trump derangement syndrome', as fundamentally lacking in compassion.
Rogan's Scathing Critique on His Podcast
During the Christmas Day episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, the 58-year-old UFC commentator addressed Trump's lengthy post on Truth Social. The post followed the December 14 discovery of the couple, fatally stabbed in their bed at their Brentwood, Los Angeles mansion. Their deaths were ruled homicides, and their 32-year-old son, Nick Reiner, was arrested in connection with the crime.
Rogan told his guest, comedian Shane Gillis, 38, that he found Trump's response distasteful. 'The Rob Reiner thing is not funny,' Rogan stated, expressing dismay at the former president's decision to use the tragedy to mock Reiner's well-known left-leaning political activism. Rogan said he saw 'no empathy' in Trump's attack.
Trump's Controversial Social Media Statement
Shortly after the news broke, Trump, 79, published his take on the tragedy. He described Reiner, 78, as a 'once very talented movie director' whose death was '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'.
Trump claimed Reiner had a 'raging obsession' with him, concluding the message with, 'May Rob and Michele rest in peace.' Rogan argued this was equivalent to 'people celebrating when Charlie Kirk got shot,' referencing the fatal shooting of the Turning Point USA co-founder at a Utah rally in September.
A History of Political Animosity
Rogan noted that Reiner had made it his 'mission to try and get Trump out of office' since his first term. The director had been vocally critical, calling Trump 'mentally unfit' in a 2017 interview and warning of authoritarianism during the 2024 campaign.
Despite their profound political differences, Reiner did not celebrate the death of conservative figure Charlie Kirk. Appearing on Piers Morgan's show, Reiner called Kirk's assassination an 'absolute horror,' stating, 'I don't care what your political beliefs are. That's not acceptable.'
Rogan challenged listeners to imagine the outcry if former President Barack Obama had made similar comments about a conservative critic's murder, asserting it highlighted 'how crazy it is, the way Trump thinks and talks.' The podcast host found no justification for Trump's actions 'in a compassionate society.'
