Jimmy Kimmel didn’t hold back during Monday night’s broadcast of Jimmy Kimmel Live! as he addressed Donald Trump’s comments on Rob Reiner’s death.
Trump had claimed Reiner died “due to the anger he caused others” through what he called “Trump derangement syndrome.” The comments sparked widespread outrage, with many — including prominent celebrities — strongly condemning Trump for his words about the iconic Hollywood director and actor.
Here’s what Jimmy Kimmel said during his broadcast:
“What we need at a time like this, besides common sense when it comes to guns and mental health care, is compassion and leadership. We did not get that from our president, because he has none of it to give. Instead, we got a fool rambling about nonsense,” Kimmel said. “For Rob and Michele Reiner, we got this post.”
Kimmel read Trump’s Monday morning Truth Social post aloud, 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 was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before. May Rob and Michele rest in peace!”
Thought it was fake
“It’s so hateful and vile,” Kimmel said of the post. “When I first saw it, I thought it was fake. My wife showed it to me this morning. I was like, ‘Even for him, that seemed like too much.’ But nothing is ever too much for him.”
He also addressed Trump’s comments at an Oval Office press conference, where the president was given a chance to retract or clarify his remarks but instead doubled down.
“I wasn’t a fan of his at all,” Trump told reporters. “He was a deranged person as far as Trump is concerned. He knew it was false. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. He said I was a friend of Russia, controlled by Russia. You know, the Russia hoax. He was one of the people behind it. I think he hurt himself career-wise. He became like a deranged person. Trump derangement syndrome. So, I was not a fan of Rob Reiner at all, in any way, shape or form. I thought he was very bad for our country.”
Scathing words
“That corroded brain is in charge of our lives,” Kimmel shot back.
“If you voted for that, it’s okay to reconsider. It’s perfectly fine. I have to say, I know from my personal interactions with Rob Reiner that he would want us to keep pointing out the loathsome atrocities that continue to ooze out of this sick and irresponsible man’s mouth. So we’re going to do that over and over again until the rest of us wake up.”
Kimmel wasn’t alone in acknowledging Reiner’s death. While not addressing Trump directly, Stephen Colbert began his Monday night show with a somber preface, referencing Reiner’s death alongside the shootings at Bondi Beach and Brown University.
“Hello, everybody,” Colbert said. “Normally, we start the show with a short cold open about a major news story of the day. But after the terrible news this past weekend, the horrifying Hanukkah massacre at Bondi Beach, the tragic shootings at Brown University and the heartbreaking deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner, all of the major stories are too dark for that. Other people’s tragedy is sacred ground, and we try very hard not to walk there. But we are going to do a comedy show tonight, in light of and in spite of the darkness.”
A ”very loud argument”
Rob Reiner, his wife Michele, and their son Nick were at Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party on Saturday night. According to Reiner family sources who spoke to TMZ, Rob and Nick got into a “very loud argument” during the event — so loud that many other guests could hear it.
The couple were then found dead on Sunday, December 14, inside their abode in Brentwood, California. According to The Mirror, authorities described the scene as a “horror double murder” involving what appeared to be stab wounds.
Reiner was 78, Michele was 68.
Their son, Nick Reiner has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the deaths of his parents, according to the Los Angeles police chief Jim McDonnell. Jail records first indicated his bail was set at $4 million, but authorities later ordered that the 32-year-old Nick Reiner be held without bail.
