Michelle Obama will skip Trump inauguration, but ex-President Obama will be there

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Former first lady Michelle Obama will skip the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, the second time in two weeks that she is not attending a gathering of former U.S. leaders and their spouses, but former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton will be there.

Laura Bush and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will join their husbands for the Jan. 20 swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol, representatives said.

“Former President Barack Obama is confirmed to attend the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies. Former first lady Michelle Obama will not attend the upcoming inauguration,” said a statement from the Office of Barack and Michelle Obama that was shared with The Associated Press.

No explanation was given for why Michelle Obama was skipping Trump’s inauguration. She also did not attend former President Jimmy Carter’s state funeral in Washington last week. Former Presidents Trump, Obama, Bush and Clinton and their spouses attended — except for her.

Bill Clinton will attend Trump’s swearing-in ceremony, a person familiar with the former president’s schedule confirmed for the AP. Hillary Clinton will also attend, a spokesperson said.

The Office of George W. Bush said he and former first lady Laura Bush are also attending.

Michelle Obama was the only spouse absent at last week’s funeral service at Washington National Cathedral, where her husband and Trump were seated next to each other and chatted and laughed like old friends despite the history of political animosity between the Democratic former president and the returning Republican.

The former first lady campaigned against Trump during his 2016, 2020 and 2024 presidential campaigns. In her 2018 memoir, she described her shock upon learning that Trump would succeed her husband, and she denounced Trump’s “birther” campaign, which questioned Barack Obama’s citizenship.

Michelle Obama campaigned last fall for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, delivering an emotional speech in Michigan in which she challenged men to vote for the vice president and argued that women’s lives would be at risk if Trump returned to the White House.

All three former presidents and their wives attended Trump’s first inauguration in 2017, including Hillary Clinton, after she lost the 2016 presidential election to Trump. Carter also attended.