Former first lady Michelle Obama will not be attending President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration next week.
“Former President Barack Obama is confirmed to attend the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies. Former first lady Michelle Obama will not attend the upcoming inauguration,” the Obamas’ office said in a statement.
No reason was given for her absence.
Michelle Obama also did not attend the funeral service last week for former President Jimmy Carter. Barack Obama, George W. and Laura Bush and Bill and Hillary Clinton attended, as did President Joe Biden and Jill Biden and Trump and Melania Trump.
The Bushes plan to attend the inauguration, the former president's office said. Both Clintons will attend the inauguration, according to their respective representatives, Angel Urena and Nick Merrill.
An aide in Michelle Obama's office said her last public events were campaigning alongside Vice President Kamala Harris in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Oct. 26, and a get-out-the-vote rally for her in Norristown, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 2. She also sat for an interview on Jennifer Hudson's show on Dec. 17.
Michelle Obama has attended every inauguration since her husband's in 2009, including Trump's inauguration when he succeeded Obama in 2017. It was not an experience she enjoyed, she acknowledged on her "The Light Podcast" in 2023.
"[T]here was no diversity, there was no color on that stage. There was no reflection of the broader sense of America. Many people took pictures of me, and they’re like, you weren’t in a good mood. No, I was not," she said.
