Michelle Obama Just Announced She Will Not Attend Donald Trump's Inauguration After Also Missing Jimmy Carter's Funeral

Mar. 15, 2025

Michelle Obamawill not join her husband,Barack Obama, atDonald Trump’s second presidential inauguration, a spokesperson for the former first couple confirmed to PEOPLE on Tuesday, Jan. 14.

The announcement comes days after Michelle made headlines for missingJimmy Carter’s state funeral, where she would have been seated next to President-elect Trump.

CNN’sJeff Zelenyreported at the time that the former first lady was “still in Hawaii on an extended holiday vacation” during the funeral, saying her advisers credited the absence to a scheduling conflict.

Michelle Obama and Donald Trump.David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty; James Devaney/GC Images

David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty; James Devaney/GC Images

The Jan. 20 swearing-in ceremony will mark the second for Trump, who previously won the 2016 presidential election against former first lady and Secretary of StateHillary Clinton.

The Obamas and Trumps greet each other at the White House on Inauguration Day 2017.

Trump declined to attend the January 2021 inauguration of President Joe Biden after his 2020 defeat, making him the first outgoing president in more than 150 years to skip the swearing-ceremony.

“To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th,” he wrote in a Jan. 8, 2021,post to X.

The last time a sitting president had not attended the swearing-in ceremony of the incoming president was in 1869 when Andrew Johnson refused to attend the inauguration of Ulysses S. Grant.

Barron Trump and Donald Trump at the presidential inauguration parade in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 20, 2017.Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty

Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

On Jan. 1, Trump announced plans to host a “victory rally” on the eve of his upcoming inauguration via an announcement on hisinauguration site. The “Make America Great Again Victory Rally” is scheduled to take place at 3 p.m. local time at Capital One Arena on Jan. 19.

Trump has described the event as “a victory rally you’ll never forget" according to a sign-up page on the site. While it is unclear how many supporters are expected to attend, the event space holds20,000 people.

This will be the first rally Trump will hold in Washington, D.C., since the rally that led to theJan. 6 attack on the Capitolin 2021.

source: people.com