Mike Hixenbaugh
@mikehixenbaugh.com
NBC News senior reporter | Author of THEY CAME FOR THE SCHOOLS | Co-creator of SOUTHLAKE & GRAPEVINE podcasts | Retired t-ball coach
www.mikehixenbaugh.com
www.mikehixenbaugh.com
What Trump actually said in the clip: “If she had gotten in, you probably wouldn’t have *a* job right now. Your boss, who’s an amazing guy, might be bust.”
January 14, 2026 at 12:46 AM
What Trump actually said in the clip: “If she had gotten in, you probably wouldn’t have *a* job right now. Your boss, who’s an amazing guy, might be bust.”
That’s very kind. Thank you, Kim.
January 6, 2026 at 11:05 PM
That’s very kind. Thank you, Kim.
6/
The Reiners’ bond with Williams was built on ideals that animated much of Rob’s work — love, chosen family, compassion and redemption.
It’s a remarkable story. I was deeply touched by it.
I hope you’ll give it a read.
The Reiners’ bond with Williams was built on ideals that animated much of Rob’s work — love, chosen family, compassion and redemption.
It’s a remarkable story. I was deeply touched by it.
I hope you’ll give it a read.
He was sentenced to death. Rob and Michele Reiner loved him like a son.
Nanon Williams was sent to death row for a murder he says he didn't commit. Decades later, through daily emails and weekly prison calls, the Reiners became family.
www.nbcnews.com
January 6, 2026 at 2:25 PM
6/
The Reiners’ bond with Williams was built on ideals that animated much of Rob’s work — love, chosen family, compassion and redemption.
It’s a remarkable story. I was deeply touched by it.
I hope you’ll give it a read.
The Reiners’ bond with Williams was built on ideals that animated much of Rob’s work — love, chosen family, compassion and redemption.
It’s a remarkable story. I was deeply touched by it.
I hope you’ll give it a read.
5/
Receiving emails in prison can take hours, sometimes days. Messages are screened and scrutinized, creating delays that become agonizing in times of crisis.
Two days later, Williams received a message from Michele.
She’d send to just hours before her death.
Receiving emails in prison can take hours, sometimes days. Messages are screened and scrutinized, creating delays that become agonizing in times of crisis.
Two days later, Williams received a message from Michele.
She’d send to just hours before her death.
January 6, 2026 at 2:25 PM
5/
Receiving emails in prison can take hours, sometimes days. Messages are screened and scrutinized, creating delays that become agonizing in times of crisis.
Two days later, Williams received a message from Michele.
She’d send to just hours before her death.
Receiving emails in prison can take hours, sometimes days. Messages are screened and scrutinized, creating delays that become agonizing in times of crisis.
Two days later, Williams received a message from Michele.
She’d send to just hours before her death.
4/
That story came to a tragic end last month when Williams saw a news alert on his state-issued tablet. It said two people had been found dead at the Reiners home. Their ages matched Rob and Michele’s.
Williams typed out a desperate message: “Please tell me the news is lying.”
That story came to a tragic end last month when Williams saw a news alert on his state-issued tablet. It said two people had been found dead at the Reiners home. Their ages matched Rob and Michele’s.
Williams typed out a desperate message: “Please tell me the news is lying.”
January 6, 2026 at 2:25 PM
4/
That story came to a tragic end last month when Williams saw a news alert on his state-issued tablet. It said two people had been found dead at the Reiners home. Their ages matched Rob and Michele’s.
Williams typed out a desperate message: “Please tell me the news is lying.”
That story came to a tragic end last month when Williams saw a news alert on his state-issued tablet. It said two people had been found dead at the Reiners home. Their ages matched Rob and Michele’s.
Williams typed out a desperate message: “Please tell me the news is lying.”
3/
It was an incredible moment in a story as profound as it was unlikely.
It’s the story of how Rob and Michele Reiner came to love a man serving life in a Texas prison like a son.
It was an incredible moment in a story as profound as it was unlikely.
It’s the story of how Rob and Michele Reiner came to love a man serving life in a Texas prison like a son.
He was sentenced to death. Rob and Michele Reiner loved him like a son.
Nanon Williams was sent to death row for a murder he says he didn't commit. Decades later, through daily emails and weekly prison calls, the Reiners became family.
www.nbcnews.com
January 6, 2026 at 2:25 PM
3/
It was an incredible moment in a story as profound as it was unlikely.
It’s the story of how Rob and Michele Reiner came to love a man serving life in a Texas prison like a son.
It was an incredible moment in a story as profound as it was unlikely.
It’s the story of how Rob and Michele Reiner came to love a man serving life in a Texas prison like a son.