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Kimmel then read aloud Trump’s Truth Social post from Monday morning, in which the former president wrote: “A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood. 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.” He continued by claiming Reiner drove people “CRAZY” with his obsession over Trump and concluded, “May Rob and Michele rest in peace!”
Reacting to the post, Kimmel said, “It’s so hateful and vile. When I first saw it, I thought it was fake. My wife showed it to me this morning, and I was like, ‘Even for him, that seemed like too much.’ But nothing is ever too much for him.”
Kimmel also addressed Trump’s subsequent remarks made during an Oval Office press conference, where the president was asked to clarify or walk back his comments but instead reinforced them. Trump told reporters, “I wasn’t a fan of his at all. He was a deranged person as far as Trump is concerned,” before repeating claims that Reiner accused him of being controlled by Russia and asserting that Reiner was “very bad for our country.”
Scathing words
“That corroded brain is in charge of our lives,” Kimmel responded sharply on his show. He added that voters should feel free to reconsider their support, saying that based on his own interactions with Reiner, the filmmaker would have wanted people to continue calling out what Kimmel described as the president’s ongoing harmful rhetoric.
Kimmel was not the only late-night host to acknowledge the tragedy. Although he did not directly address Trump, Stephen Colbert opened his Monday night show with a somber reflection, referencing Reiner’s death alongside the shootings at Bondi Beach and Brown University. Colbert explained that the weight of the recent events made comedy difficult, but emphasized the importance of continuing the show despite the darkness.
A “very loud argument”
Rob Reiner, his wife Michele, and their son Nick were reportedly attending Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party on Saturday night. According to family sources cited by TMZ, Rob and Nick became involved in a “very loud argument” during the gathering, loud enough for other guests to overhear.
The following day, Sunday, December 14, Rob and Michele Reiner were found dead inside their Brentwood, California home. Authorities later described the scene as a “horror double murder,” with reports indicating apparent stab wounds. Rob Reiner was 78, and Michele Reiner was 68.
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