The podcaster called the president’s comments “so disappointing” and said that someone should’ve taken “his f---ing phone” away.

Joe Rogan condemns Donald Trump’s comments about Rob Reiner’s death: ‘There’s no justification’

The podcaster called the president's comments "so disappointing" and said that someone should've taken "his f---ing phone" away.

By Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2022. Her work has previously appeared on MTV News, Teen Vogue, and *NME*.

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December 29, 2025 4:19 p.m. ET

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Joe Rogan, Rob Reiner, and Donald Trump. Credit:

Ronald Martinez/Getty; John Nacion/Variety via Getty; Chip Somodevilla/Getty

Joe Rogan is denouncing Donald Trump’s “not funny” comments about Rob Reiner after the filmmaker and his wife Michele Singer Reiner’s deaths earlier this month. **

During a recent episode of *The Joe Rogan Experience*, the 58-year-old podcaster called out the president’s remarks and imagined what the reaction would’ve been like if former president Barack Obama had ever spoken about someone’s death in the same way. **

“The Rob Reiner thing is not funny,” Rogan said. “When you see it with no empathy, that’s when it’s hard to like.”

Reiner, 78, and his wife, Michele, 68, were found dead in their Brentwood, Calif., home on Dec. 14. Their son, Nick Reiner, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection to the killing of his parents.

Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner in 2019.

Amy Sussman/Getty

On the morning after the Reiners’ deaths, Trump claimed in a Truth Social post that Rob had died 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, “[Reiner] 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!"

How 'SNL' paid tribute to Rob Reiner, one of its first hosts

Death certificates reveal new information about Rob Reiner and wife Michele's killings

On the podcast, guest Shane Gillis admitted that he wished Trump “could apologize” for his remarks, but agreed with Rogan that he wouldn’t. **

“Listen, there’s no justification for what he did that makes any sense in a compassionate society,” Rogan replied. “It’s no different than people that were celebrating when Charlie Kirk got shot. It’s the same kind of thing.”**

Gillis noted that was “the thing that bothered me” about Trump’s comments, too. “It’d be like if Obama tweeted, ‘Rest in piss,’” he added. **

The pair then began spitballing what it would’ve been like if Obama had ever made similar comments. “Imagine if Obama tweeted something about someone after they died in this way,” Rogan said. “That this person was a deranged person that hated Obama.” **

He continued, “It just shows you how crazy it is, the way Trump thinks and talks. It’s just like, the guy got sliced up by his kid, you know? Anybody that doesn’t see that and go, ‘F---, man.’”**

Gillis replied, “It’s the worst.”

Rogan noted that the entire situation was “crazy because Rob Reiner made it a mission to try and get Trump out of office.” **

Reiner was a lifelong Democrat who strongly opposed the Trump administration. He previously called the president “mentally unstable” and accused him of committing “treason against the United States of America.” **

Gillis said that Reiner’s political comments “sucked," but that Trump didn't have to get involved in the situation. “You get murdered next to your wife, by your son? That’s like the worst thing possible," he added. "And then the president…”**

“Right,” Rogan replied. “It’s a crazy thing to put out.”

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Rogan noted that he felt “so disappointed” by Trump’s comments in the wake of the tragedy. “It’s so disappointing,” he confessed. “It’s like why… if you say that privately that’s one thing, which is also crazy, but it’s so disappointing.” **

The podcaster later noted that Trump shouldn’t have “put anything out” and that someone should have taken “his f---ing phone” away from him.

Rogan and Gillis aren't the only ones who have voiced their displeasure with Trump's comments in the aftermath of his social media post. Actors Josh Gad and James Woods, musician Jack White, the hosts of *The View*, late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, and a collection of politicians from across the aisle all called out the president for his remarks.**

That didn't stop Trump from doubling down on his disparaging comments about Reiner in a White House press conference. “Well, I wasn’t a fan of his at all,” he said. “He was a deranged person as far as Trump is concerned.”

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