The shocking deaths of director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele have left Hollywood—and the Obamas—reeling. On Jimmy Kimmel Live Monday, former first lady Michelle Obama revealed that she and her husband Barack were actually scheduled to have dinner with the couple the very night they were found stabbed to death in their Los Angeles home.
“We’ve known them for many, many years and we were supposed to be seeing them that night – last night and we got the news,” Michelle said, her words a chilling reminder of how close tragedy struck.
The deaths of the Reiners, known for their progressive activism and generosity, quickly became political fodder. President Donald Trump sparked widespread criticism with a post blaming the deaths on “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” later claiming the director was “very bad for our country.”
Michelle Obama didn’t call out Trump by name, but her response left little doubt. “Let me just say this, unlike some people, Rob and Michele Reiner are some of the most decent, courageous people you ever want to know,” she told Kimmel’s audience.
“They’re not deranged or crazed. What they have always been are passionate people in a time when there’s not a lot of courage going on, they were the kind of people who were ready to put their actions behind what they cared about. They cared about their family, they cared about this country and they cared about fairness and equity and that is the truth. I do know them.”
Rob Reiner was an outspoken critic of the Trump administration, describing the former president as “mentally unfit” and “unqualified” for office. In response, Trump’s post on Truth Social accused Reiner of driving people “CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump,” a statement widely condemned—even by prominent GOP figures like Marjorie Taylor Greene, who called it “inappropriate” and “disgraceful.”
Meanwhile, the investigation into the Reiners’ deaths has taken a shocking turn: their 32-year-old son, Nick Reiner, has been arrested and booked for murder, held on $4 million bail.
In her interview, Michelle Obama highlighted the humanity of the couple beyond their political activism. “They’re not deranged or crazed. What they have always been are passionate people… They cared about their family. And they cared about this country. And they cared about fairness and equity. And that is the truth. I do know them.”
Former President Obama also paid tribute on social media, calling the Reiners’ lives “defined by purpose” and praising the director’s commitment to the “goodness of people.”
The tragedy of the Reiners is now entwined with politics and grief. For Michelle Obama, it’s personal: a night of friendship that ended in heartbreak.
Watch the full Michelle Obama interview below—her comments on Rob and Michele Reiner begin at 9:58.
