Michelle Obama will skip Trump’s inauguration

Former first lady Michelle Obama will not attend the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, after skipping former President Jimmy Carter’s state funeral last week.

The office of Barack and Michelle Obama confirmed that former President Obama will attend the Jan. 20 inauguration, but his wife will not.

The office gave no further explanation as to why the former first lady would not be in attendance.

Mrs. Obama will be the only ex-presidential spouse not to attend the inauguration, with former first ladies Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush expected to be in attendance. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush will attend the inauguration next week.

Mrs. Obama was also absent from the state funeral for Carter, which was attended by all the living former presidents and the other former first ladies. Reports suggested that Mrs. Obama had opted to stay on vacation in Hawaii instead of attending the funeral. 

With Mrs. Obama absent, Mr. Obama took the seat next to Mr. Trump and the two men exchanged friendly banter before the funeral began. 

Mrs. Obama has expressed distaste for Mr. Trump since he was first elected president in 2016. Despite those reservations, Mrs. Obama did attend his inauguration in 2017. She and Mr. Obama were handing over the reins of power and the keys to the White House that day, and President Biden and first lady Jill Biden will be there for this year’s ceremony..

However, Mrs. Obama hated the experience, saying in a 2023 podcast that the ceremony lacked diversity and failed to “reflect the broader sense of America.”

Additionally, the former first lady has said she will “never forgive” Mr. Trump for claiming Mr. Obama was born outside the U.S., which would have made him constitutionally ineligible to be president  Mrs. Obama said the false claims cast doubt on her husband’s legitimacy and endangered her family. 

The Obamas also campaigned with Mr. Trump’s opponent all three times he has been the Republican nominee. Hitting the stump in 2024 for Vice President Kamala Harris, Mrs. Obama criticized the former president for his comments on women and immigrants.