Michelle Obama Remembers Rob and Michele Reiner: “Decent, Courageous People"

Barack and Michelle Obama had plans to see their good friends Rob and Michele Reiner on December 14, the day that the When Harry Met Sally director and his wife were brutally murdered in their Brentwood home. The former First Lady and current author recently recalled learning the tragic news on Jimmy Kimmel Live! “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,” she said. “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."

"They are neither deranged nor insane," she continued—referring to President Donald Trump’s snide message about the murder on Truth Social, in which he claimed that the director suffered from a "crippling, massive, incurable mental illness known as Trump Derangement Syndrome".

“What they have always been are passionate people, in a time when there’s not a lot of courage going on,” the former first lady continued. “They were the kind of people who were ready to put their actions behind what they cared about. And they cared about their family. And they cared about this country. They cared about their families, about this country, about justice and fairness. That's the truth, I know them well.” She added, “And they cared about fairness and equity. And that is the truth. I do know them.”

Barack also reacted to the deaths of the Reiners, posting a message on X expressing his solidarity and recalling the importance of Rob Reiner's work in the film and television industry: “Michelle and I are heartbroken by the tragic passing of Rob Reiner and his beloved wife, Michele. Rob’s achievements in film and television gave us some of our most cherished stories on screen.”

An outspoken opponent of Donald Trump, Reiner had recently granted an interview to Ali Velshi, warning against current political drift. “Make no mistake; we have a year before this country becomes a full-on autocracy, and democracy completely leaves us,” he declared at the time, deeming the political climate under the second term of the 47th American president to be “worthy of the McCarthy era.”

Nick Reiner, Rob and Michele's 32-year-old son, was arrested in the murder of his parents and is being represented by famed defense attorney Alan Jackson, who has represented everyone from Harvey Weinstein to Karen Read. Charged on Tuesday December 16 with two counts of first degree murder, Reiner faces the death penalty if convicted, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney.

Rob and Nick co-wrote and directed the film Being Charlie, which was inspired by Nick's history of addiction and resulting complicated relationships with his parents.