Former First Lady Michelle Obama will miss President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, raising eyebrows after she also missed former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral in Washington, D.C., last week.
In a statement released on Tuesday, six days before Trump is scheduled to return to office for his second term, the Obama family shared that only former President Obama would attend the inauguration.
“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 statement.
At Carter’s funeral last week, former President Obama was seen sitting next to Trump and having what appeared to be a jovial conversation, with both men laughing and smiling before the funeral began.
Michelle Obama’s absence from the funeral and now her absence from the inauguration are not too surprising, as the former first lady has often been critical of Trump since before he took office in 2016.
During the Democratic National Convention, the former first lady delivered a speech while pushing for Vice President Kamala Harris. She also took a shot at Trump, a man who has often been critical of her husband.
“For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us. See, his limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who happen to be Black,” Michelle Obama said during her speech in August.
At one point in the speech, she said that Trump was a misogynistic racist.
While her absence from Carter’s funeral was explained as a scheduling conflict, many pointed to the presence of other living former presidents and their spouses.
“Former First Lady Michelle Obama is not in attendance at President Carter’s National Funeral Service,” a spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill. “Mrs. Obama sends her thoughts and prayers to the Carter family, and everyone who loved and learned from the remarkable former President.”
CNN reported that she was on an “extended holiday vacation” in Hawaii at the time of the funeral.
As for why she will miss the inauguration next week, Obama’s office provided no detail or reasoning.