Fake Rob Reiner post resurfaces after his death
- Published on December 17, 2025 at 17:41
- 2 min read
- By Bill MCCARTHY, AFP USA
Far-right activist Laura Loomer and other allies of Donald Trump are sharing a fabricated post attributed to Rob Reiner after the US president claimed the renowned filmmaker brought on his own death by criticizing the Republican leader. But Reiner never posted the supposed message cursing supporters of Trump's "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) movement, a review of archives of his former X account confirmed.
"Until Trump goes to prison I will no longer be posting on Twitter," says what looks like a screenshot of a post from Reiner's X account.
"I've had it with the insults and put downs," the purported message, dated January 20, 2023, continues before closing with profanities directed at MAGA supporters.
The image spread across X and other platforms as Trump attacked Reiner one day after the legendary movie director and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead in their Los Angeles home December 14, 2025 in what was reportedly a fatal stabbing.
Authorities arrested the couple's son Nick Reiner, who has a history of substance abuse stretching back to his teenage years, in the matter. The 32-year-old was expected to be formally charged with murder as soon as he is medically cleared to appear in court.
But Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that the elder Reiner -- an ardent supporter of liberal causes and the Democratic Party who frequently criticized Trump -- had been killed "reportedly due to the anger he caused others" through "TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME."
"He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump," the president said.
Loomer, a far-right figure who has traveled with Trump, shared the image in a December 15 X post defending the Republican leader.
"Rob Reiner was a loser," Loomer wrote. "Naturally, his son was also a loser, and he got addicted to drugs and allegedly murdered his parents. Looks like Rob should've spent more time parenting & less time spreading Russia conspiracy hoaxes about President Trump. I stand with President Trump."
But the text attributed to Reiner online is fake.
Although Reiner's X account is no longer available -- he appears to have deleted the page around November 2024 -- no such message appears in archived captures from the Internet Archive and archive.is, which together document hundreds of his posts dating back years.
Among the archives is a reply Reiner sent in 2023 to another user who shared the same made-up post. "This is not my account," he wrote.
Content warning
The fabricated screenshot appears to have been altered from a real post Reiner sent January 20, 2023 that said: "Until Trump is Indicted for leading a Deadly Insurrection to Overthrow the United States Government, our Democracy will not be restored." The date and time on that post match those attached to the fake.
Reuters and the Daily Caller's Check Your Fact both covered the deception at the time, affirming that Reiner's then-active account also included no such post.
AFP has debunked other misinformation about US politics here.
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