Michelle Obama, the former first lady, campaigning for Vice President Kamala Harris in Kalamazoo, Mich., in October.
Credit...Erin Schaff/The New York Times

Michelle Obama Will Skip Trump’s Inauguration

Mrs. Obama also declined to attend the funeral of Jimmy Carter last week, which would have put her face-to-face with Mr. Trump.

by · NY Times

Trump Transition 

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Michelle Obama, the former first lady, will not attend the inauguration of President-elect Donald J. Trump, her office said in a statement on Tuesday.

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

The statement did not provide an explanation for why Mrs. Obama was skipping the inauguration, which is traditionally attended by former presidents and their spouses. But it is the second high-profile event in the past two weeks that she has declined to take part in that would have brought her face-to-face with Mr. Trump.

Mrs. Obama has expressed personal disdain for the president-elect, who pushed the lie that her husband was not a U.S. citizen and has a history of making racist and sexist statements.

“For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us,” she said during her speech at the Democratic National Convention in August.

“See, his limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hard-working, highly educated, successful people who happen to be Black,” she added.

Mrs. Obama did not accompany her husband to the funeral of former president Jimmy Carter last week, which every other living former president and first lady attended. Mrs. Obama’s absence at Mr. Carter’s funeral was attributed to a scheduling conflict, but it was notable that by protocol, she would have been seated next to Mr. Trump, who engaged Mr. Obama in a conversation during the ceremony.

The Obamas, who served as surrogates for Vice President Kamala Harris on the campaign trail, issued a statement shortly after the election congratulating Mr. Trump on his victory.

“This is obviously not the outcome we had hoped for, given our profound disagreements with the Republican ticket on a whole host of issues,” the statement said. “But living in a democracy is about recognizing that our point of view won’t always win out, and being willing to accept the peaceful transfer of power.”

Mrs. Obama is not the first to buck the tradition of former first families attending an inauguration. Mr. Trump and the former first lady, Melania Trump, did not attend President Biden’s inauguration in 2021, after Mr. Trump falsely claimed that the election was stolen from him.

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