Michelle Obama will skip Trump inauguration, but ex-Presidents Obama, Clinton and Bush will be there
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$1 per week for 24 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $4.00 plus GST every four weeks. After 24 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.99/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/01/2025 (436 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — 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.