Former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama were supposed to spend time with Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner the very day the couple died.
The former first lady revealed what happened Sunday that changed everything during an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Monday,
The Reiners were found dead on Sunday afternoon from apparent knife wounds. Nick Reiner, 32, the couple’s son, has been charged with their murder.
“We’ve known them for many, many years. We were supposed to be seeing them that night. Last night. And we got the news,” Obama said.
She went on to described the couple in glowing terms, much opposite of the way President Donald Trump described the famed director. The president called Reiner “deranged” and “tortured and struggling.”
“And let me just say this. Unlike some people, Rob and Michelle Reiner are some of the most decent, courageous people you ever want to know,” Obama said.
“They’re not deranged or crazed. What they have always been are passionate people in a time when there – there’s not a lot of courage going on,” Obama 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 their country. And they cared about fairness and equity. And that is the truth. I do know them.”
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Barack Obama released a formal statement earlier Monday saying the couple was “heartbroken” and praising Reiner’s “deep belief in the goodness of people” and living a life “defined by purpose.”
