Joe Rogan blasts Trump’s response to Rob Reiner's death: 'Not funny'

WASHINGTON, DC: Podcaster Joe Rogan criticized President Donald Trump's remarks, made in a social media post, on the killings of filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Reiner, calling the comments inappropriate and lacking empathy. 

Speaking on a recent episode of the 'The Joe Rogan Experience,' Rogan said Trump's reaction crossed a line following a fatal family tragedy. The comments come as Trump faces bipartisan backlash and new polling shows widespread public disapproval of his social media post about Reiners' deaths. 

Joe Rogan criticizes Donald Trump's remarks 

Rogan, in an episode of 'The Joe Rogan Experience', joined by comedian Shane Gillis, discussed Trump’s response to the murders of Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Reiner, who were found dead earlier this month in their Brentwood, Los Angeles, home.

Their son, Nick Reiner, has been charged with two counts of murder in connection with the deaths. Rogan criticized Trump’s Truth Social statement, arguing that it reflected a lack of empathy and amounted to political trolling in the aftermath of a violent crime. 

“The Rob Reiner thing is not funny, right? And that’s like the same thing. It’s the same kind of thinking. And when you see it with no empathy, that’s when it’s hard to like (Trump),” Rogan said.

Gillis added that Trump was unlikely to express remorse for the remarks. “I wish he could apologize. I know he can’t and he won’t,” Gillis said. 

Rogan also referenced Trump’s broader behavior, including plaques displayed in the White House that mock previous presidents, calling it “crazy” and saying it was something a president “shouldn’t be allowed to do.” 

Trump’s statement, posted a day after the deaths were reported, blamed Reiner’s killing on what he described as “Trump derangement syndrome", citing the filmmaker’s long-standing criticism of him.

In the post, Trump referred to Reiner as “a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star,” and claimed Reiner had “driven people crazy” with his opposition to the administration. 

Public reaction and polling show broad disapproval 

Rogan compared Trump's remarks to political reactions on the left that celebrated the September assassination of conservative leader Charlie Kirk, arguing that both responses reflected the same disregard for human life.

"It’s no different than people that were celebrating when Charlie Kirk got shot. It’s same kind of thing,” Rogan said.

A new YouGov poll released Friday indicates that Rogan’s criticism aligns with broader public sentiment. The survey, conducted between December 15 and 18 among 1,107 respondents, showed that 72 percent of Americans viewed Trump’s post as inappropriate, while 17 percent said it was appropriate.

Among non-conservative Republicans, 66 percent deemed the remarks inappropriate, compared with 19 percent who disagreed. Conservative Republicans were more divided, with 45 percent calling the comments inappropriate and 43 percent saying they were appropriate.