The former first lady just missed Jimmy Carter’s funeral.
Everyone watching Donald Trump’s inauguration next week will probably find themselves asking the same question: Where is Michelle Obama? But we’ll spare you some seconds of searching because we have the answer already.
The former first lady won’t be in attendance when Trump is sworn in for his second term on Jan. 20, according to an official statement from the Office of Barack and Michelle Obama. “Former President Barack Obama is confirmed to attend the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies. Former first lady Michelle Obama will not attend the upcoming inauguration,” it read.
The office didn’t offer any explanation of why Obama won’t be present, but the inauguration will be the second major public event she’s missed this month. She was noticeably absent when all four living former presidents and their wives gathered at the National Cathedral on Jan. 9 for Jimmy Carter’s state funeral. At the time, reports indicated that she had a “scheduling conflict” and was still in Hawaii, where she had been on an “extended vacation.”
Amid the speculation about her reasoning, a source told PEOPLE that it’s pretty clear to insiders: “There’s no overstating her feelings about [Trump]. She’s not one to plaster on a pleasant face and pretend for protocol’s sake. Michelle doesn’t do anything because it’s expected or it’s protocol or it’s tradition.”
PEOPLE‘s reporting also points out that it’s been a difficult time for the Obamas, given the loss of Michelle’s mother Marian Robinson, who died at 86 last summer. But the former first lady’s choice to skip the inauguration is also about living a different life now that her husband is no longer the president.
“She served in the public eye and did all the public good that she could for eight years as first lady,” the source said. “You’ll see her when she has a project or cause to promote, but she doesn’t feel the need to be a public figure anymore.”
Paying close attention to who isn’t at a presidential inauguration is a relatively recent phenomenon. For years, it’s been customary for the outgoing president as well as living former presidents and their spouses to attend, even if there had been political bad blood leading up to the event. Both Obamas attended Trump’s first inauguration in 2016, despite Trump’s continued attacks on Barack’s American citizenship, and so did Hillary Clinton, who had just weathered a brutal campaign against Trump in which “lock her up” chants became a mainstay of his rallies.
In 2021, however, Trump and his wife Melania did not attend Joe Biden’s inauguration. It’s worth noting that Trump has continually refused to acknowledge Biden’s legitimate and legal victory in 2020, and he engaged in what special counsel Jack Smith called “criminal efforts to retain power” after he was defeated in that election.
Trump wasn’t the first outgoing president to skip his successor’s swearing-in, but he was the first to do so in more than 150 years. The last commander-in-chief to miss the inauguration was Andrew Johnson; he called Ulysses S. Grant a “deliberate deceiver” and said he would not “debase” himself by watching Grant take the oath of office. Before that, John Quincy Adams didn’t attend Andrew Jackson’s inauguration in 1829, and John Adams didn’t attend Thomas Jefferson’s in 1801.
So, who will be at Trump’s second inauguration next week? President Biden said he will “of course” be there, and representatives for George W. and Laura Bush and Bill and Hillary Clinton have indicated they’ll all be attending, too. AP indicates that Vice President Kamala Harris will also be in attendance. (Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, however, has said she won’t be there.)
Also present will be country music star Carrie Underwood, who will perform “America the Beautiful” at the inauguration. The American Idol winner received a fair amount of blowback online for her decision, but she defended the choice.
“I love our country and am honored to have been asked to sing at the Inauguration and to be a small part of this historic event,” Underwood said in a statement to PEOPLE. “I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future.”
