Breaking News
Breaking News
from Washington and beyond

Elon Musk’s Grok AI Is Covering Up Trump’s Vile Post on Rob Reiner

Grok is claiming Donald Trump never made the post, which is still up.

Donald Trump speaks while wearing a white USA hat
Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg/Getty Images

X users are experiencing an entirely different reality from the one that is actually happening.

Grok, Elon Musk’s generative AI program attached to X, is apparently running cover for the president over disturbing comments he made related to the murder of famed Hollywood filmmaker Rob Reiner.

Reiner was found stabbed to death in his Los Angeles home Sunday, alongside his wife, producer Michele Singer Reiner. Their son, 32-year-old Nick Reiner, was taken into custody early Monday and is being held on $4 million bail.

The motive for the gruesome killing is not clear. But in Donald Trump’s mind, the murder is all about him, and The Princess Bride director never would have died if he had shown support for the MAGA agenda.

“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,” Trump wrote in a chilling post on Truth Social that is still on the site.

“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,” he continued. “May Rob and Michele rest in peace!”

But Grok is either not capable of spotting the current events fiasco or has been programmed to deliberately muffle the president’s remarks. When X users initially probed Grok about the veracity of Trump’s recent post, the chatbot blatantly lied.

“Based on searches of X and Truth Social, no such post exists from @DonaldJTrump,” Grok responded to one user. “The screenshot seems fabricated. Rob Reiner and his wife were tragically killed, but Trump hasn’t commented publicly on it.”

In a separate post, Grok doubled down, informing users that it had “double-checked Trump’s accounts on X and Truth Social” and found that “no posts about Rob Reiner or his wife exist.”

“The screenshot is fabricated,” Grok wrote.

The chatbot eventually changed its mind—though only after Trump’s comments were widely reported by national media outlets.

MAGA Horrified by Trump’s Sick Post Reveling in Rob Reiner’s Death

Even some of Donald Trump’s biggest fans can’t believe he said this.

Donald Trump speaks at a lectern while stretching out a hand for emphasis.
Alex Wong/Getty Images

Right-wing figures, including many supporters of the president, are condemning Donald Trump’s deranged Truth Social post attacking Rob Reiner following his and his wife’s tragic killing.

Trump claimed that Reiner and his wife’s deaths were “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,” a comment that many conservatives are rightfully calling insensitive and disrespectful.

Some of the president’s supporters replied to his post calling out his insensitive comments and telling him now was not the time to settle a political score.

X screenshot Sahil Kapur @sahilkapur Scrolling through the comments on that truth social post screenshot of comments like "Please take that down it's beneath you" and "Come on, Mr. President! Not appropriate thing to write!"

Right-wing commentators Raheem Kassam, Robby Starbuck, and Rod Dreher—all of whom have supported Trump—were also disappointed in his comments.

X screenshot Raheem J. Kassam @RaheemKassam Don’t love this, to be honest.
X screenshot Robby Starbuck @robbystarbuck What happened last night to Rob Reiner and his wife was a savage butchering of 2 human lives. I don’t care what their politics were or how they felt about Trump, no law abiding human deserves this. We should pray for + send condolences to his loved ones and NOT make it political.
X screenshot Rod Dreher @roddreher Something is very, very wrong with this man. A father and mother were murdered by their son, most likely, and Trump makes it about himself.

Other conservatives who have took a stand against Trump in recent months were equally outraged. Representative Thomas Massie, a libertarian critic of the president, called Trump’s post “inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered.”

X screenshot Thomas Massie @RepThomasMassie Regardless of how you felt about Rob Reiner, this is inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered. I guess my elected GOP colleagues, the VP, and White House staff will just ignore it because they’re afraid? I challenge anyone to defend it.

One of Trump’s biggest supporters turned critics, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, pointed out Rob’s son Nick struggled with drug addiction, calling out Trump for making a “family tragedy” about politics and political enemies.

X screenshot Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 @RepMTG Rob Reiner and his wife were tragically killed at the hands of their own son, who reportedly had drug addiction and other issues, and their remaining children are left in serious mourning and heartbreak. This is a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies. Many families deal with a family member with drug addiction and mental health issues. It’s incredibly difficult and should be met with empathy especially when it ends in murder.

On Sunday night, Turning Point USA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet posted a video of Reiner’s comments following Charlie Kirk’s murder in September, in which Reiner said his gut reaction was “absolute horror.” Kolvet praised the Hollywood icon for responding “with grace and compassion to Charlie’s assassination.” Not even 12 hours later, Trump showed how much he is lacking in those two qualities.

X screenshot Andrew Kolvet @AndrewKolvet Rob Reiner responded with grace and compassion to Charlie's assassination. This video makes it all the more painful to hear of he and his wife's tragic end. May God be close to the broken hearted in this terrible story. https://x.com/Panopticonomy/...

White House Furious at Josh Hawley Over Latest Abortion Gambit

Donald Trump’s advisers are pissed that the Republican senator is putting the entire party at risk ahead of the midterms.

Senator Josh Hawley
Al Drago/Getty Images
Senator Josh Hawley speaks with reporters inside the Capitol.

President Trump’s inner circle is reportedly fuming at Republican Senator Josh Hawley for starting a new anti-abortion dark-money group with his wife in an effort to reignite political discourse on the issue—one the GOP expects to lose in the upcoming midterms.

Hawley hopes the group, called the Love Life Initiative, will be a “strong voice advocating for life.” Trump’s team begs to differ.

“Clearly, Senator Hawley and his political team learned nothing from the 2022 elections, when the SCOTUS abortion ruling [that reversed Roe v. Wade] resuscitated the Democrats in the midterms,” an anonymous adviser told Axios. They went on to argue that what they see as positive economic growth should be the theme for the midterms instead. “Picking a fight on an issue like abortion in a midterm is the height of asinine stupidity.”

This rift also comes amid monthslong rumors of Hawley’s potential presidential aspirations in 2028, as he could challenge Vice President JD Vance to rip the GOP away from the MAGA wing post-Trump.

Republican Lawmakers Take the Mask Off Over Bondi Beach Shooting

Republicans are calling for a purge of Muslim immigrants.

People stand next to a memorial for the victims of the shooting at Bondi Beach
George Chan/Getty Images
A memorial for the Bondi Beach shooting victims

MAGA world is calling for a mass deportation of Muslims, following a mass shooting in Australia—ignoring the reality that it was a member of the local Muslim community who intervened and stopped the violence.

At least 15 people were killed Sunday in a horrific attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach. Two men—a father-son duo—allegedly opened fire on a crowd of Jewish Australians on the first night of Hanukkah. The country’s leadership has declared the incident a terrorist attack.

The suspects have been identified by authorities as 50-year-old Sajid Akram and his son, 24-year-old Naveed Akram. The elder Akram moved to Australia in 1998, while the junior was born in the country.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the suspects were “driven” by an antisemitic ideology. He also rejected accusations that recent Muslim immigration into Australia was to blame, noting that the pair had engaged in an “extreme perversion of Islam” while underscoring the actions of the day’s hero—Ahmed Al Ahmed—who ran toward the danger and grappled a gun away from one of the attackers.

But halfway across the world, American politicians were more interested in broadcasting a simpler message—even if it didn’t accurately reflect the events. Across social media, Republicans lawmakers issued similar statements suggesting that Muslims are a threat to peaceful society that must be deported.

“The Religion of Peace strikes again,” posted Representative Randy Fine. “How many Muslim attacks do there have to be until we say enough?”

Senator Tommy Tuberville went a step further, claiming that “Islam is not a religion. It’s a cult.”

“Stop worrying about offending the pearl clutchers,” Tuberville wrote. “We’ve got to SEND THEM HOME NOW or we’ll become the United Caliphate of America.”

Even local politicians hopped on the islamophobic bandwagon. Retweeting a message celebrating the “AUSTRALIAN HERO” (but that did not mention his religion), New York City Councilmember Vickie Paladino claimed that the world was suffering from a “global jihad” that “cannot” be ignored.

“We need to take very seriously the need to begin the expulsion of Muslims from western nations, or at the very least the severe sanction of them within western borders,” Paladino wrote.

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani—the economic powerhouse’s first Muslim mayor—did not take the same approach. In a lengthy missive, Mamdani recognized the “growing pattern of violence targeted at Jewish people across the world,” and implored New Yorkers to follow in Al Ahmed’s footsteps, urging the city to “confront hatred with the urgency and action it demands.”

MAGA Spreads Dangerous Conspiracy About Brown University Shooter

Donald Trump’s supporters are conveniently forgetting the identity of one of the victims.

People participate in a vigil at Brown University
Bing Guan/AFP/Getty Images
A vigil at Brown University

MAGA Republicans are already pushing conspiracy theories about the shooting at Brown University over the weekend, claiming that one of the victims was targeted for her conservative beliefs.

Sophomore student Ella Cook was one of the two people killed Saturday when a shooter opened fire during a review session for an economics exam. The gunman has not yet been taken into custody or identified, but the victims have—and apparently that’s all MAGA thought they needed to crack the case.

Some Republicans began to claim that Cook, who served as vice president of the Brown chapter of College Republicans of America, was targeted for her politics. Of course, none of them bothered to mention Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, an Uzbek student who was studying neuroscience who was also killed Saturday, or the eight others who were injured.

William Branson Donahue, founder and chairman of the College Republicans, claimed to have been “told” that Cook was “allegedly targeted for her conservative beliefs, hunted, and killed in cold blood.”

“Losing Charlie three months ago rocked our worlds. The entire College Republicans community is weeping this evening learning of the news. This was an attack on our family,” he wrote on X Sunday night.

It seems that Donahue quickly realized the story didn’t quite add up, but rather than remove the original post, he just wrote a second post beneath it.

“This was the report I received that came from students immediately after the news broke. The story is evolving. We are waiting for the official police report and receiving updates from the chapter,” Donahue said.

His follow-up post did not receive nearly as much attention as his initial one. At time of publishing, his conspiracy post had received 833 comments, 3,500 reposts, and 13,000 likes. His tepid attempt to walk it back had just 116 comments, 48 reposts, and 644 likes.

It seems clear Donahue did not wait for the official police report before lighting a flare to his fellow conservatives.

Gabe Guidarini, chairman of the Ohio College Republicans Federation who previously thought a very real video of Vivek Ramaswamy was a deepfake, carried the torch. “They have martyred one of our own,” he wrote on X Sunday night. “Pray for every College Republican leader and member.”

Who are “they?” Why, the left of course.

Chaya Raichik of LibsofTikTok posted on X Sunday that Cook’s death meant it was “open season on Conservatives now.”

And New York City Councilwoman Vicky Paladino wrote Sunday on X that it was “very clear now that the attack at Brown was perpetrated by the leftist activist and targeted Republicans.”

For now, it seems that the only substantive similarity between this shooting and the assassination of Charlie Kirk, besides that they both took place at universities, is just how quickly MAGA has moved to exploit violence for its own political purposes.

MAGA Gets Rude Awakening on Hero at Bondi Beach Shooting

The bystander who disarmed one of the gunmen in the deadly attack at Australia’s Bondi Beach was Muslim, whether the far right likes it or not.

Screnshot of a video fo the bystander tackling one of the gunmen.
Screenshot/X

The far right is claiming that Ahmed Al Ahmed, the bystander who intervened in the deadly, antisemitic mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration in Bondi Beach, Australia, this weekend was a Christian—and not a Muslim—to justify its Islamophobia.

“The media keeps saying the man who disarmed the Muslim terrorist in Australia today is also a Muslim who owns a fruit stand,” far-right commentator Laura Loomer wrote Sunday on X. “Credible reports suggest the man is actually a Lebanese or Coptic Christian. Don’t fall for the propaganda.”

“He is a Christian Maronite! The hero that stopped one of the terrorists in Australia is called Ahmad Al Ahmad. The Anti-Israel mobs celebrated him being a Muslim, as if that made the terror attack less terrible,” a large account called “Hamas Atrocities” wrote. “But he is not a Muslim! He is a Christian Maronite!”

“The hero who disarmed the T*rrorist in Australia is a Christian. NOT a muslim,” said another account.

This was debunked quickly. In reality, Al Ahmed—who tackled and disarmed one of the gunmen in a shocking act of heroism—is a Muslim immigrant from Syria who owns a fruit shop, as confirmed by The Jerusalem Post and Al Ahmed’s family.

“He’s been here since 2006, and he’s an Australian citizen.… My son is a hero. He served with the police and the central security forces,” Al Ahmed’s father told an Australian news broadcast. “His conscience and his soul compelled him to pounce on one of the terrorists and rid him of his weapon.”

The 43-year-old father of two was shot twice after disarming one of the shooters and is currently in the hospital recovering.

Mike Johnson’s Health Care Deal Crumbles as Obamacare Deadline Looms

December 15 is the last day for Americans to register for Obamacare open enrollment.

House Speaker Mike Johnson stands during a press conference
Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty Images

House GOP moderates are breaking away from their party leader.

At least four Republican representatives—Brian Fitzpatrick, Jen Kiggans, David Valadao, and Mike Lawler—have decided to bypass House Speaker Mike Johnson altogether amid a disagreement on extensions for Affordable Care Act premium subsidies.

There are just 17 days left on the clock before the premium subsidies expire altogether. They assist individuals making upward of 400 percent of the federal poverty level. Without them, health insurance premiums for more than 20 million Americans are expected to double.

But that 17-day deadline is effectively nil. Even if the House manages to pass a package, the Senate isn’t expected to follow suit.

What’s more, Monday is the final day for people to register for ACA open enrollment—something many may be hesitant to do if they’re not sure whether the premiums will expire, sending health care costs skyrocketing.

Last week, Johnson granted Fitzpatrick and Kiggans an opportunity to vote on an amendment to extend the subsidies. But differing opinions over the amendment’s text have effectively crumbled the deal, and the cohort of moderate Republicans are expected to go their own way, Punchbowl News reported Monday.

“Fitzpatrick, Kiggans, and Reps. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and David Valadao (R-Calif.) will go to the House Rules Committee Tuesday to offer their amendment, which would extend the subsidies for two years alongside income caps and anti-fraud reforms,” the digital outlet reported. “They expect it to be rejected. It’s unclear what the moderates will do after that. They’d effectively be free agents.”

Being free could put them in a position to side with Democrats, who have pitched a three-year extension to the Obamacare tax credits. The GOP representatives’ collective signatures would push the liberal party’s discharge petition over the finish line.

Without the subsidies, policy analysts expect a mass exodus from Obamacare plans altogether that could leave roughly four million Americans completely uninsured. The spike in uninsured Americans will spur a nationwide public health problem that has historically made premiums more expensive for the insured as hospitals look to recoup the lost cash.

But have no fear, Republicans have said they’ll focus on health care policy in the coming year—after millions of Americans lose their coverage.

Trump Hits New Low With Twisted Reaction to Stabbing of Rob Reiner

Donald Trump claims Reiner was responsible for his own death.

Rob Reiner smiles alongside his wife Michele Singer
David Livingston/Getty Images
Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner

Donald Trump has responded to the tragic death of director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, with an unhinged Truth Social post attacking Reiner for criticizing him in the past. 

Trump called Reiner “a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star,” and made the wildly insensitive claim that the pair died due to Reiner’s “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.” 

Truth Social screenshot

Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump

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!
Dec 15, 2025, 9:51 AM

Right now, police have not publicly confirmed any details as to the circumstances of the pair’s death, although People magazine reports that their son, Nick, killed them and is being questioned by law enforcement. Nick co-wrote the film Being Charlie with his father, who also directed it, and has spoken extensively about his struggles with drug addiction.   

All that is known right now is that Sunday afternoon, the Los Angeles Fire Department was called to provide medical aid to the Reiners’ home and found the couple dead. 

Trump has a history of undignified responses to the deaths of people who have criticized him, most notably Senator John McCain. Reiner was very popular in Hollywood and well known for his liberal activism, earning him posthumous tributes from former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Kamala Harris, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Even MAGA-supporting actor James Woods offered his “love and respect” to Reiner in a tribute on X.

Trump is receiving a backlash on Truth Social for his remarks, with replies from his fans criticizing his insensitivity. 

X screenshot Sahil Kapur
@sahilkapur
Scrolling through the comments on that truth social post

screenshot of comments like "Please take that down it's beneath you" and "Come on, Mr. President! Not appropriate thing to write!"

Following Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension from ABC over his comments on Charlie Kirk in September, Reiner criticized Trump and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and noted that “there’s only a couple of us that are speaking out in this hard way.” He added, “This may be the last time you ever see me.” 

This story has been updated.

Trump Derails His Christmas Speech to Ramble About Snakes

At one point, even Donald Trump acknowledged he’d lost the crowd.

Donald Trump speaks while standing outside the White House
DANIEL HEUER/AFP/Getty Images

Guests at the White House Christmas reception fell silent Sunday as President Donald Trump veered way off topic to deliver a cozy holiday tale about … poisonous snakes?

“Tale” is probably giving him too much credit. During his address, 79-year-old Trump turned his attention to Peru, which he said “is known to be a rather rough place in terms of physical creatures crawling around.”

“Twenty-eight thousand people die a year from a snake bite, a certain snake. It’s a viper. It’s said to be the most poisonous snake in the world,” Trump said. “But the venom rarely works, it’s so powerful, the snake. It’s said to be the most poisonous. That, the black mamba, the brown mamba, and the viper from Peru.”

Trump tried to explain that he was telling this “story” because his son Donald Jr. was sitting in the audience, but he didn’t end up telling any story at all.

“And so, he’s being read his rights and his—this is, they thought he was dead three times, three different times, they carried him out, feeding him the anti-venom, and over a period of months he was unconscious for a long time, many weeks, and he made it. I asked him, ‘How ya doing today?’ And he said, ‘Is it perfect?’” the president rambled incoherently.

Suddenly, Trump seemed to notice that he’d lost his audience.

“Look how quiet everybody is,” the president said. “You know, it’s funny when you talk about snakes and things like that, people find it interesting.”

Interesting? No. Deeply concerning? Yes.

Ilhan Omar Reveals Her Son Was Targeted by ICE

The Democratic representative has been the focus of right-wing attacks in recent weeks, led by the president himself.

Representative Ilhan Omar speaks at a mic as others stand behind her.
Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

The son of Representative Ilhan Omar was caught up in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota.

In an interview with local TV station WCCO on Sunday, Omar said that federal agents pulled over her son on Saturday and demanded proof of citizenship.

“Yesterday, after he made a stop at Target, he did get pulled over by [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] agents, and once he was able to produce his passport ID, they did let him go,” Omar said, adding that her son always carries his passport. According to the Somali American congresswoman, it’s not her son’s first brush with ICE: In the past, agents entered a mosque where he and others were praying but left without incident.

After ICE had visited that mosque, she said she “had to remind him just how worried I am, because all of these areas that they are talking about are areas where he could possibly find himself in and they are racially profiling, they are looking for young men who look Somali that they think are undocumented.”

Earlier this month, President Trump launched an immigration crackdown targeting the local Somali American community in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area, the largest in the country. The president said he did not “want them in our country,” calling Omar and the rest of the community garbage.

On Friday, Omar sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons accusing the government of “blatant racial profiling” and “an egregious level of unnecessary force” in Minnesota.

“It is clear to me that this surge came in direct response to Trump’s racist comments about Somali people, and about me in particular,” Omar wrote.