Former first lady Michelle Obama spoke Monday about her friendship with Rob and Michele Reiner, who were found dead inside their Los Angeles home just a day earlier, while appearing to attack President Donald Trump for his incendiary comments about the late director. (See video below).

In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, Obama said she and her husband, former President Barack Obama, were very close to the couple before sharing a surprising detail.

“We’ve known them for many, many years and we were supposed to see them that night, last night, and we got the news,” Obama said.

The Reiners’ middle son, Nick Reiner, has been arrested and held in a Los Angeles County jail without bail, as a police investigation determined he was “responsible for their deaths.”

(L-R) Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner attend the Human Rights Campaign's Los Angeles 2025 Dinner Honoring Ashley Park and Hannah Einbinder at Fairmont Century Plaza on March 22, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. The couple was found dead inside their Los Angeles home on December 14, 2025. Nick Reiner, one of their sons, has been arrested in connection with their deaths.
(L-R) Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner attend the Human Rights Campaign’s Los Angeles 2025 Dinner Honoring Ashley Park and Hannah Einbinder at Fairmont Century Plaza on March 22, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. The couple was found dead inside their Los Angeles home on December 14, 2025. Nick Reiner, one of their sons, has been arrested in connection with their deaths.

Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage via Getty Images

President Donald Trump wrote that Reiner died “allegedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding and incurable affliction with a crippling mental illness known as TRUMP DISORDER SYNDROME” on Monday.

He later doubled down on those comments while speaking to reporters.

“Well, I wasn’t a fan of his at all. He was a deranged person, as far as Trump was concerned,” Trump said of Reiner.

While Obama did not explicitly reference Trump, he told Kimmel that “unlike some people, Rob and Michele Reiner are some of the most decent and brave people you’ll ever want to meet.”

“They’re not deranged or crazy,” he said. “What they’ve always been is passionate people in a time where there isn’t a lot of courage. They were the kind of people who were willing to put their actions behind what mattered to them. And they cared about their family, and they cared about this country, and they cared about justice and equity.”

“And that’s the truth. I know them,” Obama added.

Kimmel used his opening monologue to criticize Trump’s reaction to Reiner’s death, saying, “Just when you think he can’t go any lower, he somehow finds a way to do it.”

Watch Obama’s comments from the 10-minute mark here:

“,”guy”:”video”,”goal”:{“author”:”Jimmy Kimmel live”,”author_url”:”https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa6vGFO9ty8v5KZJXQxdhaw”,”cache_age”:86400,”description”:”Michelle Obama talks about sending her Christmas cards, being a great Christmas person, Barack giving her gifts, the number of Christmas parties she used to go to as First Lady, the last time she was in a mall, being able to drive on Martha’s Vineyard, her In My Opinion podcast with her brother Craig, comedian Katt Williams as a guest, the tragic deaths of her friends Rob and Michele Reiner, her new book “The Look”, women defined by their looks, Oprah sending her an incredible gift after the first time she met They meet, Jimmy asks her for some fashion advice and she reveals her style icons to him.nnSUBSCRIBE to get the latest from #Kimmel: http://bit.ly/JKLSubscriben nFollow Jimmy Kimmel on Instagram: https://bit.ly/KimmelInstagram nFollow Jimmy Kimmel Live on Instagram: http://bit.ly/JKLInstagramnFollow Jimmy Kimmel Live on TikTok: https://bit.ly/JKLTikTok nLike Jimmy Kimmel on Facebook: http://bit.ly/KimmelFB nLike Jimmy Kimmel Live on Facebook: http://bit.ly/JKLFacebook nVisit the Jimmy Kimmel Live website: http://bit.ly/JKLWebsite n nAbout Jimmy Kimmel Live: n nJimmy Kimmel serves as host and executive producer of “Jimmy Emmy®-nominated Kimmel Live, ABC’s late-night talk show. “Jimmy Kimmel Live” is well known for its viral video successes, with more than 16 billion views and more than 19 million subscribers on the show’s YouTube channel. Some of Kimmel’s most popular comedies include Celebrities Read Mean Tweets, Lie Witness News, Halloween Candy YouTube Challenge, Jimmy and Cousin Sal pranking Aunt Chippy, and music stars like Rihanna and Dua Lipa surprising Jimmy in the middle of the night.”,”options”:{“_cc_load_policy”:{“label”:”Closed Captions”,”worth”:FAKE},”_end”:{“label”:”Finish the”,”placeholder”:”ex.: 11, 1m10s”,”worth”:””},”_begin”:{“label”:”Start from”,”placeholder”:”ex.: 11, 1m10s”,”worth”:””}},”supplier_name”:”YouTube”,”thumbnail_height”:720,”thumbnail_url”:”https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IqGNKbXBfPg/maxresdefault.jpg”,”thumbnail_width”:1280,”qualification”:”Michelle Obama on Barack’s gifts, being able to drive again and remembering Rob and Michele Reiner”,”guy”:”video”,”URL”:”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqGNKbXBfPg”,”version”:”1.0″},”flags”:[],”improvements”:{},”complete bleeding”:FAKE,”options”:{“issue”:”news”,”device”:”office”,”editionInfo”:{“ID”:”us”,”name”:”US”,”link”:”https://www.News.com”,”place”:”y_US”},”Original edition”:”us”,”esMapi”:FAKE,”esAmp”:FAKE,”it’s mobile”:FAKE,”esAdsFree”:FAKE,”enVideoEntry”:FAKE,”enEntry”:TRUE,”also mount”:FAKE,”Entry ID”:”69412805e4b0a75967040c72″,”entryPermanent link”:”https://www.News.com/entry/michelle-obama-reacts-to-rob-michele-reiner-deaths_n_69412805e4b0a75967040c72″,”entryTagsList”:”jimmy-kimmel, michelle-obama, rob-reiner, michele-reiner, @us_News_now, living in black”,”sectionSlug”:”entertainment”,”departmentSlug”:”entertainment”,”sectionRedirectUrl”:”https://www.News.com/entertainment”,”subcategories”:”policy”,”it is wide”:FAKE,”enShopping”:FAKE,”Override header”:null,”no video ads”:FAKE,”disable float”:FAKE,”is native”:FAKE,”commercialVideo”:{“supplier”:”habit”,”site_and_category”:”us.entertainment”,”package”:null},”enHighline”:FAKE,”vidibleConfigValues”:{“cid”:”60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf”,”cancels”:{“front_page_top_videos”:{“office”:”60b64354b171b7444beaff4d”,”mobile web”:”60b64354b171b7444beaff4d”},”top_media”:{“office”:”60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147″,”mobile”:”60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee”,”iPhone”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”iPad”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”android phone”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”,”android tablet”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”},”anthology”:{“office”:”60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba”,”mobile”:”60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66″,”iPhone”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”iPad”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”android phone”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”,”android tablet”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”},”content”:{“office”:”60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba”,”mobile”:”60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66″,”iPhone”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”iPad”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”android phone”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”,”android tablet”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”}},”playerUpdates”:{“5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6″:”60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443″,”56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8″:”60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81″,”5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f”:”60b8e355cdd90620331ba185″,”58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895″:”60b64316b171b7444beafdb2″,”58b74698f78ced31417819ae”:”60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52″,”58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1″:”60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5″,”58cff690d85a100b9992bc39″:”60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba”,”58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180″:”60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66″,”58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7″:”60b643c82e76be41f112735c”,”592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”,”5b35266b158f855373e28256″:”60b64354b171b7444beaff4d”,”5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a”:”60b64440b171b7444beb040b”,”5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9″:”60b646102e76be41f1127ffc”,”5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f”:”60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147″,”5c477987a6b48b35f164773d”:”60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee”,”5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371″:”60b8e747cdd90620331bb861″,”5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2″:”60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b”,”5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6″:”60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9″,”58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321″:”60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c”,”58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3″:”60d0dic19340d7032ad115a0″,”58cff8eccebcea42931e0436″:”60d0e005b627221e9d819d44″,”592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b”:”60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf”,”58cff72fd85a100b9992c112″:”60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da”,”56b4d34fe4b022697697c400″:”60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443″,”60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d”:”60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81″}},”connatixConfigValues”:{“default player”:”ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b”,”click to play player”:”d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0″,”video page player”:”f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145″,”vertical player”:”e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065″,”StickyPlayerControl”:”52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da”,”sticky player”:”8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22″,”noAdsPlayer”:”deeeda04-49cb-4a1d-ac6c-c388a685b58e”,”life page player”:”e1d799d2-2d81-4f27-bfa0-e6833a657659″,”adLightDesktopPlayer”:”014f5956-89c0-4fda-9201-b1c2b8232be5″,”adLightMobilePlayer”:”b74a8200-8881-451a-b3ae-e3479c486eac”},”topConnatixThumnbailSrc”:”https://img.connatix.com/43b1e44c-0d3e-469f-9c5c-72f60dd5c61f/1_th.jpg?crop=629:354,smart&width=629&height=354&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop”,”custom amplifier components”:[],”ampAssetsUrl”:”https://amp.assets.News.com”,”videoTraits”:null,”position in units units”:{“buzz_head”:{“count”:0},”body_buzz”:{“count”:0},”buzz_bottom”:{“count”:0}},”position in subunits”:{“article_body”:{“count”:4},”summary_blog”:{“count”:0},”before_going_happy”:{“count”:0}},”connatixCountsHelper”:{“count”:1},”buzzfeedTracking”:{“context_page_id”:”69412805e4b0a75967040c72″,”context_page_type”:”buzz”,”destination”:”post”,”mode”:”office”,”page_edit”:”es-us”},”labels”:[{[{“name”:”Jimmy Kimmel”,”slug”:”jimmy kimmel”,”golf course”:{“relative link”:”theme/jimmy-kimmel”,”permanent link”:”https://www.News.com/topic/jimmy-kimmel”,”mobileWebLink”:”https://www.News.com/topic/jimmy-kimmel”},”URL”:”https://www.News.com/topic/jimmy-kimmel”},{“name”:”michelle obama”,”slug”:”michelle obama”,”golf course”:{“relative link”:”theme/michelle-obama”,”permanent link”:”https://www.News.com/topic/michelle-obama”,”mobileWebLink”:”https://www.News.com/topic/michelle-obama”},”URL”:”https://www.News.com/topic/michelle-obama”},{“name”:”steal reiner”,”slug”:”rob reiner”,”golf course”:{“relative link”:”theme/rob-reiner”,”permanent link”:”https://www.News.com/topic/rob-reiner”,”mobileWebLink”:”https://www.News.com/topic/rob-reiner”},”URL”:”https://www.News.com/topic/rob-reiner”},{“name”:”Michael Reiner”,”slug”:”michele reiner”,”golf course”:{“relative link”:”theme/michele-reiner”,”permanent link”:”https://www.News.com/topic/michele-reiner”,”mobileWebLink”:”https://www.News.com/topic/michele-reiner”},”URL”:”https://www.News.com/topic/michele-reiner”}],”enLiveblogLive”:null,”enLiveblog”:FAKE,”backfillRelated articles”:[{[{“edition ID”:”us”,”holder”:”Trump blames Rob Reiner for his own death in Truth Social Post”,”Default image”:{“guy”:”Hector”,”URL”:”https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/69402ca22600007fa08370f6.jpeg”,”queryParams”:{},”broad”:1600,”height”:900,”credit”:”AP compound”,”operations”:”500_281″},”URL”:”https://www.News.com/entry/trump-reacts-to-rob-reiner-death_n_694025a1e4b03a2812cefbaa”,”ten”:”The director and his wife were found dead in their Los Angeles home less than 24 hours ago.”},{“edition ID”:”us”,”holder”:”Jimmy Kimmel names the only way Rob Reiner would want Americans to respond to ‘vile’ Trump”,”Default image”:{“guy”:”Hector”,”URL”:”https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/6940f500260000c3dd83720f.jpeg”,”queryParams”:{“cache”:”3nqjpZwuLp”},”broad”:1080,”height”:1080,”credit”:””Jimmy Kimmel live!”/ABC | fake images”,”operations”:””},”URL”:”https://www.News.com/entry/jimmy-kimmel-trump-rob-reiner-attack_n_6940e577e4b0a7596703eeb7″,”ten”:”The late-night host harshly criticized the president’s speech.”hurry up and put the tail on the donkey” in search of a”Trump-friendly narrative.””},{“edition ID”:”us”,”holder”:”Trump defends Rob Reiner’s shocking post even as MAGA criticizes him for it”,”Default image”:{“guy”:”Hector”,”URL”:”https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/69407dd81900002fc57f4365.jpeg”,”queryParams”:{“cache”:”l7oKBMI9uy”},”broad”:6848,”height”:5120,”credit”:”ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS via Getty Images”,”operations”:”500_281″},”URL”:”https://www.News.com/entry/trump-comments-rob-reiner-killings_n_69407d4ee4b043da371d4a2d”,”ten”:”The president claimed that the famous director had been murdered for his criticism of Trump.”},{“edition ID”:”us”,”holder”:”Obama’s connection to the tragedy “,”Default image”:{“guy”:”Hector”,”URL”:”https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/69416d13260000dcff8372a4.png”,”queryParams”:{},”broad”:800,”height”:450,”credit”:””,”operations”:””},”URL”:”https://www.News.com/entry/obamas-connection-to-tragedy_n_69416d13e4b06cf6877f136a”,”ten”:”On “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, Michelle Obama revealed that she and her husband were supposed to meet Rob and Michele Reiner the day their bodies were discovered.”},{“edition ID”:”us”,”holder”:”White House ignites online storm after retweeting Trump’s Rob Reiner post”,”Default image”:{“guy”:”Hector”,”URL”:”https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/69404b02190000beb57f4330.jpeg”,”queryParams”:{},”broad”:3366,”height”:2237,”credit”:”via News”,”operations”:”500_281″},”URL”:”https://www.News.com/entry/white-house-social-media-retweets-trumps-vile-rob-reiner-post_n_69403c41e4b02a9ef51775d9″,”ten”:”The publication was condemned on a bipartisan level.”}],”Login URL”:”https://login.News.com/login?dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.News.com%2Fentry%2Fmichelle-obama-reacts-to-rob-michele-reiner-deaths_n_69412805e4b0a75967040c72%3Fhp_auth_done%3D1″,”cet unit”:”body_buzz”,”enableIncontentPlayer”:FAKE,”bodyAds”:[[“

rnrn”,”

rnrn”,”

rnrn”],”ad count”:0,”midArticleAdPartner”:null},”enCollectionEmbed”:false}”>