Michelle Obama to skip inauguration after absence at Jimmy Carter’s funeral
The former first lady Michelle Obama will skip Donald Trump’s upcoming presidential inauguration, marking her second absence from a major gathering of US political figures this month.
While her husband and former president Barack Obama will join fellow formers Bill Clinton and George W Bush at the 20 January ceremony, Michelle Obama will not be in attendance. Her office provided no explanation for her planned absence from the event at the US Capitol.
The announcement follows her notable absence from the former president Jimmy Carter’s state funeral last week, where Barack Obama was seen in seemingly cordial conversation with Trump, despite their historically fraught relationship. Michelle Obama was in Hawaii at the time.
“Former President Barack Obama is confirmed to attend the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies. Former first lady Michelle Obama will not attend the upcoming inauguration,” read a statement from the Obamas’ office.
The decision represents an unusual break from traditional protocol, in which former presidents and their spouses typically attend presidential inaugurations regardless of party affiliations. At Trump’s 2017 inauguration, all living former presidents and first ladies were present, including Hillary Clinton, who had lost to Trump in the 2016 election.
Both Laura Bush and the former secretary of state Hillary Clinton will accompany their husbands to this month’s ceremony, according to the Associated Press.
Obama has previously spoken about her feelings regarding Trump’s first inauguration, describing in a 2023 podcast “uncontrollable sobbing” and the emotional difficulty of watching what she characterised as a ceremony lacking in diversity and failing to reflect “the broader sense of America”.
She has also been vocal about how she could “never forgive” Trump’s rhetoric, which she has claimed put her family’s safety at risk.
Despite these misgivings, Obama did participate in the traditional transition ceremonies in 2017, hosting Melania Trump for tea at the White House ahead of the inauguration.
