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Michelle Obama Is Skipping Donald Trump’s Second Inauguration

Her office’s announcement comes after she also gave Jimmy Carter’s funeral a miss.

Michelle Obama will not attend Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, her office said Tuesday.

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

Her absence comes after she also skipped the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter last week, though her husband and all four other living U.S. presidents and their wives attended.

In that case, a spokesperson for Obama said that she had a scheduling conflict. This time, though, no explanation for the absence was offered.

Obama was supposed to sit next to Trump at Carter’s funeral, but the spot was instead filled by her husband, who made headlines for laughing as he chatted with the president-elect.

Michelle Obama has been a vocal critic of Trump.

She was one of the highest-profile proxies for Kamala Harris during her bid for the presidency last year. In October, she went viral for a speech urging voters to cast their ballots against Trump if they cared about women.

“We all know we have a lot more work to do in this country,” she said at the time. “But to anyone out there thinking about sitting out this election, or voting for Donald Trump, or voting for a third-party candidate in protest, because you’re fed up. Let me warn you, your rage does not exist in a vacuum. If we don’t get this election right, your wife, your daughter, your mother, we as women will become collateral damage to your rage.”

AP reported that former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton are attending Trump’s inauguration. They will be joined by their spouses, Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton.

The White House previously confirmed that, as is typical, President Joe Biden will attend his successor’s inauguration, even though Trump skipped Biden’s swearing-in back in 2021. Trump, who lost the 2020 presidential election, falsely maintained that it was rigged against him.

All living presidents and their spouses, including Michelle Obama, attended Trump’s first inauguration in 2017.

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Martha MercerSenior Editor

Liam ArchackiNews Reporter

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