MAGA commentator Scott Jennings has awkwardly admitted Donald Trump crossed a line with his post about the death of Rob Reiner—just hours after the president plugged the CNN star’s new book on Truth Social.
The conservative broadcaster appeared on NewsNight on Monday evening, joining a panel discussing Trump’s ill-timed post after Reiner and wife Michele were killed in their home on Sunday afternoon.
Trump, 79, labeled Reiner “tortured and struggling” before claiming he had “passed away” due to “the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.”
When asked about the negative reaction to his Monday morning post, Trump doubled down at the White House, calling the late director “deranged.”
“Well, I wasn’t a fan of his at all. He was a deranged person as far as Trump is concerned,” Trump said on Monday afternoon.
NewsNight guest host Sara Sidner asked Jennings why Trump repeatedly posts things that are “less than humane.”
“I think he should have said nothing,” Jennings said, choosing his words carefully.
“I’m not surprised that Donald Trump didn‘t have anything nice to say about Mr Reiner,” he continued. “Reiner was one of his most vocal critics and did for, you know, basically a decade say he should be in prison, called him a fascist.”
Jennings then noted, “The correct answer here, and the advice I would have given, is just put it in your pocket. You‘re allowed to harbor opinions and feelings about people, but in this particular case, someone was tragically murdered.”
He then went on to reference the “thousands and thousands of liberals” he said “celebrated” the murder of far-right activist Charlie Kirk.
“They shouldn’t have done that either,” Jennings said, “and so, you know, in this particular case, putting it in your pocket would have been the right thing to do.”
Jennings added of Trump’s post, “I disagree with the statement. I wish he hadn‘t made it.”
His comments came just a few hours after President Trump had given Jennings’ new book a free plug on Truth Social to his 11 million followers.
“Get your copy of Scott Jennings’ GREAT Book today,” Trump wrote of the book, A Revolution of Common Sense: How Donald Trump Stormed Washington and Fought for Western Civilization.
Trump added a photo of Jennings in the White House with him, as the president smiled and posed with the new release. Jennings interviewed Trump extensively for the book.
CNN Senior Political Commentator and The View co-host Ana Navarro said on NewsNight Monday that being president came with “a higher bar” when it comes to public statements.
“If he can’t exercise the duty, then just shut up, keep your mouth shut and keep Rob Reiner’s name out of your mouth, particularly today,” Navarro said.
Author Bakari Sellers went even further on CNN, saying Trump has “never risen to the level of the office” in testing moments.
“He’s never been there when the country needed him to bridge a gap or a divide,” Sellers said.
“The bar for Donald Trump is in hell right? That’s where our expectations are for him. And for somebody to simply say that the President of the United States, when somebody dies in the fashion that they did, should just be quiet, we all need to look at ourselves and say ‘That is the standard that we hold for the President of the United States?’”
He added, “That man that is 80 years old is incapable of actually having empathy.”
Sellers also called out the evangelical Christians who surround Trump “and then look at this kind of nonsense and turn a blind eye to it.”
Some Republicans were quick to call out Trump over his insensitive post.
“Regardless of how you felt about Rob Reiner, this is inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered,” Trump foe Rep. Thomas Massie wrote on X.
“I guess my elected GOP colleagues, the VP, and White House staff will just ignore it because they’re afraid? I challenge anyone to defend it.”
Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is leaving Congress in January, wrote on X, “Rob Reiner and his wife were tragically killed at the hands of their own son, who reportedly had drug addiction and other issues, and their remaining children are left in serious mourning and heartbreak.”
She added, “This is a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies. Many families deal with a family member with drug addiction and mental health issues. It’s incredibly difficult and should be met with empathy, especially when it ends in murder.”
