Former first lady Michelle Obama said she was “supposed to be seeing them that night” as she came to the defense of her late friends Rob and Michele Reiner.
Obama appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Monday, the day after the Reiners were found dead in their home in Brentwood, California. Rob Reiner was a well-known Democratic fundraiser and supporter.
“How long have you known the Reiners?” host Jimmy Kimmel asked.
“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,” Obama said.
Rob Reiner was 78, and Michele Reiner was 68 at the time of their deaths. Obama went on to rebuff negative commentary about the pair. Among their critics was President Donald Trump. Reiner often publicly criticized Trump, and after the news of their deaths broke, Trump suggested in a Truth Social post that Reiner’s “raging obsession” with the president “was known to have driven people crazy.”
“And let me just say this,” Obama said. “Unlike some people, Rob and Michele Reiner are some of the most decent, courageous people you ever want to know.”
“They are 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,” Obama added. “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. And they cared about fairness and equity. And that is the truth. I do know them.”
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TRUMP STANDS FIRM ON CLAIM THAT ‘TDS’ WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR ROB REINER’S DEATH
Trump received criticism from many members of the Republican Party, including Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY), Don Bacon (R-NE), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Mike Lawler (R-NY), and Stephanie Bice (R-OK).
Former Vice President Kamala Harris wrote Sunday on X that the Reiners were also “dear friends” to her. The couple notably rallied for Harris in Chicago during her 2024 presidential campaign.
