Podcaster Joe Rogan said there was “no justification” for Donald Trump’s reaction to Rob Reiner’s murder.
The day after news broke of the deaths of Reiner, 78, and his wife, Michele, 70, the president posted a bizarre rant about the director on Truth Social. Rogan slammed Trump’s comments in an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience.
“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, 79, wrote on Truth Social.
Speaking to comedian Shane Gillis, Rogan, 58, said the “Rob Reiner thing is not funny.”
“Look, there’s no justification for what [Trump] did that makes any sense in a compassionate society. It’s no different than people that were celebrating when Charlie Kirk got shot,” Rogan said.
Both comedians wondered how people would react if former President Barack Obama spoke the way Trump did. “It just shows you how crazy it is, the way Trump thinks and talks,” Rogan continued. “It’s just like the guy got sliced up by his kid, you know? Anybody that doesn’t see that and go, ‘Fuck, man.’”
“I wish [Trump] could apologize. I know he can’t and he won’t,” Gillis responded.
Rogan referred to Reiner’s son, Nick, 32, who has been charged with the murder of his parents. The medical examiner confirmed that Reiner and Michele were killed as a result of “multiple sharp force injuries.” Nick is scheduled to appear for an arraignment hearing on Jan. 7.
“It’s so dark, man,” Rogan told Gillis. The podcaster went on to praise Reiner’s filmography and said Reiner had wanted to come on the podcast to “talk about JFK.”
Rogan made it a point to discuss “the other side”: that Reiner was a vocal critic of Trump, using his platform to condemn the president’s behaviors, policies, and slide into fascism. “Rob Reiner, like, made it a mission to try to get Trump out of office,” Rogan said. But he stood by his point, saying of Trump’s words, “It’s so disappointing.”
Trump came under fire from several leading GOP figures over his Reiner comments, including Rep. Thomas Massie and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Rogan, whose podcast consistently tops the ratings, was credited with helping Trump win the backing of young male voters after a three-hour sitdown with him shortly before last year’s presidential election. But he has been increasingly criticizing the president over his behavior, from flip-flopping on the Epstein files to the bizarre new White House plaques.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
