Carville says Charlie Kirk was not even a 'pimple on Rob Reiner's a--' in terms of cultural influence
While he acknowledges the death was tragic, Democratic strategist James Carville mocked the idea of comparing the legacy of activist Charlie Kirk to that of Rob Reiner.
Democratic strategist James Carville said Thursday that murdered activist Charlie Kirk is unworthy of being compared to the recently slain filmmaker Rob Reiner in terms of his influence.
"I’m sorry. I don’t want anybody to get shot … young kids, I hate that, but Charlie Kirk was not a pimple on Rob Reiner’s a-- when it comes to influence, when it comes to impact, when it comes to anything else. I don’t want to say anything bad, but for God’s sake, don’t dare compare Charlie Kirk to Rob Reiner. That’s not fair," Carville said.
While Reiner does not appear like Kirk to have been murdered for political reasons — Reiner's long-troubled son has been charged with killing him and his wife — many commentators are comparing the reaction from public and private figures to the men and the backlash they received in turn. Both Kirk and Reiner were outspoken activists for the right and left, respectively.
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James Carville attends The New York Times DealBook Summit 2025 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on Dec. 3, 2025, in New York City. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images for The New York Times)
Carville's co-host Al Hunt, in a clip flagged by Mediaite, recalled that Reiner himself had responded with compassion to Kirk’s death.
"That should never happen to anybody," Reiner said at the time. "I don’t care what your political beliefs are, that’s not acceptable. That’s not a solution to solving problems. And I felt like what his wife said at the service, at the memorial they had, was exactly right."
"Rob was a friend of mine," Carville said on his Thursday episode of "Politics War Room." "It is hard. And I don't say this because I like Rob's politics or I like him as a person, or anything like that. It's hard to come up with somebody who's had more cultural impact on my life than Rob did. I mean, if you think of ‘All in the Family’ and [how] groundbreaking that was. You think of ‘A Few Good Men.’ You think of ‘The Princess Bride.’ My daughters have seen ‘The Princess Bride’ 500 times. Ted Cruz, I think, can recite the whole script."
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Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner were found murdered over the weekend. (Michael Stewart/Getty Images)
On Thursday’s podcast, Carville cited an incident where he said a teacher had reportedly been fired for sharing a video of some of Kirk’s controversial statements after his death.
President Donald Trump has been sharply criticized for his Truth Social post about Reiner's death, where he said the liberal Hollywood figure had Trump Derangement Syndrome.
Fox News Digital reached out to Turning Point USA and did not receive an immediate response.
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Charlie Kirk was the co-founder of Turning Point USA. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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