Obamas had plans to see the Reiners the day they were found dead

ZACH GIBSON/THE NEW YORK TIMES

President Barack Obama and first lady Michele Obama leave the White House, in May 2016, bound for Joint Base Andrews and an event commemorating the 75th anniversary of the USO, in Washington. Michelle Obama said on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” late Monday that she and her husband, former President Barack Obama, had plans to see filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, on the day they were found dead in their Los Angeles home.

Michelle Obama said on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” late Monday that she and her husband, former President Barack Obama, had plans to see filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, on the day they were found dead in their Los Angeles home.

“We were supposed to be seeing them that night — last night,” she told Jimmy Kimmel during an interview on the show. “Rob and Michele Reiner are some of the most decent, courageous people you ever want to know.

“They are not deranged or crazed,” she said, after President Donald Trump had told reporters earlier Monday that Rob Reiner was “a deranged person.”

She added: “What they have always been are passionate people when there’s not a lot of courage going on.”

The bodies of Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Reiner, 70, were discovered Sunday in what police described as an apparent homicide. One of their sons, Nick Reiner, 32, was arrested Sunday night and is being held without bail on suspicion of murder.

Obama said that she and her husband had known the Reiners for “many, many years.” Rob Reiner was a prominent Democratic donor and political activist, enthusiastically championing causes including same-sex marriage, early childhood education and the careers of various presidential candidates.

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In a statement posted on social media after the Reiners’ deaths, Barack Obama wrote that the couple “lived lives defined by purpose.” He said Reiner’s work reflected his “deep belief in the goodness of people.”

In her interview with Kimmel, Michelle Obama said the Reiners “were the kind of people who were ready to put their actions behind what they cared about,” especially fairness and equity.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

© 2025 The New York Times Company

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