When news broke that Michelle Obama would be skipping President-elect Donald Trump’s upcoming inauguration, the former first lady offered no explanation — but multiple media reports now suggest reasons why she’s reclaiming her time.
On Tuesday, a statement from the office of Michelle Obama and former President Barack Obama said that her husband “is confirmed to attend the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies,” but noted that she “will not attend the upcoming inauguration.”
Speaking to People, a person with knowledge of her thinking soon shed some light on the announcement.
“There’s no overstating her feelings about [Trump]. She’s not one to plaster on a pleasant face and pretend for protocol’s sake,” the person stated. “Michelle doesn’t do anything because it’s expected or it’s protocol or it’s tradition.”
According to the person, Trump’s verbal attacks on the Obama family, and people of color more broadly, also played a role.
“She served in the public eye and did all the public good that she could for eight years as first lady,” the insider told People. “You’ll see her when she has a project or cause to promote but she doesn’t feel the need to be a public figure anymore.”
Meanwhile, The Hill reported that the former first lady is “sending a powerful statement” by skipping the event, with the outlet citing her longtime allies.
Michelle Obama has no plans to hide her “disdain” for Trump and “wants nothing to do with a man undeserving of the presidency,” The Hill wrote.
“She meant every word she said on the campaign trail with every fiber of her being,” one ally told the outlet. “And she’s no hypocrite.”
Page Six similarly reported that Obama’s choice to skip the inauguration was “deliberate,” citing a person “familiar with the Obamas’ circle” who said that “she’s never been phony.”
Last year, as the former first lady discussed Trump and conservative policies during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, she posed an important question: “Why would we normalize that type of backwards leadership?”
“Most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward,” she said. “We will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth. If we bankrupt a business or choke in a crisis, we don’t get a second, third or fourth chance.”
This week’s news comes after Obama was absent from former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral on Jan. 9, with her team saying that she was on an extended vacation in Hawaii at the time. “Mrs. Obama sends her thoughts and prayers to the Carter family, and everyone who loved and learned from the remarkable former President,” an Obama spokesperson said in a statement to the media.
We Need Your Support
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
Obama isn’t the first person to skip a presidential inauguration; neither Trump nor his wife, Melania Trump, attended Democrat Joe Biden’s swearing-in ceremony in 2021.
One ally of Obama told The Hill that “no one took issue” with the Trumps’ absence that year. “So why is this a big deal?” the person said, referring to Obama’s Tuesday announcement. “The chain has already been broken.”