Michelle Obama will not attend Trump’s inauguration, her office says

Former first lady Michelle Obama will not attend Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, her office confirmed Tuesday. 

A spokesperson did not immediately provide a reason for her absence. 

Barack Obama, the 44th president, is expected at the swearing-in ceremony, according to a statement.

“Former President Barack Obama is confirmed to attend the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies. Former First Lady Michelle Obama will not attend the upcoming inauguration,” the brief statement from the Office of Barack and Michelle Obama said.

A spokesperson for former President George W. Bush confirmed he and former first lady Laura Bush are planning to be at the Capitol for the festivities. 

Michelle Obama also did not attend funeral services for Jimmy Carter last week, where all the living former presidents congregated. The other living first ladies were also in attendance.

She has been a fixture at each inauguration since 2008, including Trump’s first inaugural in 2017, as she and her husband were leaving the White House. In 2023, she spoke about what it was like to be in the audience as Trump was sworn in.

“To sit on that stage and watch the opposite of what we represented on display, there was no diversity, there was no color on that stage,” Obama said. “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 on her podcast, “The Light Podcast,” that she cried for 30 minutes after the ceremony “because that’s how much we were holding it together for eight years without really being able to show it all.”