Michelle Obama to Miss Donald Trump’s Inauguration

Michelle Obama to Miss President-Elect Donald Trump’s Inauguration

Michelle Obama is continuing to lay low in 2025.

After the former first lady and wife to Barack Obama missed Jimmy Carter’s funeral Jan. 7, a spokesperson for the couple confirmed that she will also miss the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-Elect Donald Trump.

“Former President Barack Obama is confirmed to attend the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies,” a spokesperson for the couple said in a statement to E! News. “Former first lady Michelle Obama will not attend the upcoming inauguration.”

In addition to Obama, former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, as well as their spouses Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush, will be in attendance at Trump’s Jan. 20 swearing-in ceremony, their respective representatives told the AP. President Joe Biden confirmed he would attend last month, per Reuters.

Meanwhile, another star expected to make an appearance will be country singer Carrie Underwood, who is confirmed to perform “America the Beautiful” amid the ceremony.

“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,” the American Idol alum told E! News in a statement. “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.”

E! News has reached out to reps for the Obamas regarding Michelle’s upcoming absence but has not yet heard back.

Michelle’s confirmed upcoming absence comes a week after she missed Carter’s memorial, making her the only spouse of a former leader not in attendance. Former president Obama, Trump and wife Melania Trump, as well as the Bushes and the Clintons were all in attendance alongside President Biden and Dr. Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentlemen Doug Emhoff.

Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Although the occasion marked the first time every living former president had convened since 2018, Michelle was MIA due to her extending her holiday in Hawaii as CNN’s Jeff Zeleny reported at the time.

While Michelle was missing from his side, Obama proved to be a friendly presence among the former national leaders. In footage from the memorial, the 44th president—who shares daughters Malia, 26, and Sasha, 23, with Michelle—talked animatedly to Trump for several minutes. He also stood to greet former president Bush, who quickly gave him a belly tap before taking a seat. A greeting that, naturally, went viral online.

Despite missing the memorial, Michelle did pay her respects to former president Carter—who died Dec. 29 at age 100—through a joint statement with her husband.

“President Carter taught all of us what it means to live a life of grace, dignity, justice, and service,” the couple wrote in a joint statement shared to Instagram Dec. 29. “Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers to the Carter family, and everyone who loved and learned from this remarkable man.”

Keep reading for more moments from former president Carter’s memorial…

MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

Joe Biden, Jill Biden, Kamala Harris, Doug Emhoff, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, George W. Bush, Laura Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump & Melania Trump

The leaders formed a united front to pay their respects to former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who died in late December at the age of 100.

Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images

Joe Biden, Jill Biden, Kamala Harris, Doug Emhoff, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, George W. Bush, Laura Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump & Melania Trump

Carter’s service marked the first time that all five living presidents—Biden, Trump, Obama, Clinton and Bush—gathered together since George H. W. Bush’s funeral in Dec. 2018.

ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP via Getty Images

Barack Obama & Donald Trump

Obama, who was without wife Michelle Obama, sat alongside Trump ahead of the president-elect’s Jan. 20 inauguration.

Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images

JD Vance

The vice-president elect, who will formally step into his new leadership role later this month, was also among the attendees.

Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images

Justin Trudeau & Prince Edward

Canada’s prime minister, who recently announced his plan to resign, was seated alongside King Charles III’s brother.

Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images

Joe Biden, Jill Biden, Kamala Harris, Doug Emhoff, Barack Obama, Donald Trump & Melania Trump

The political leaders stood in honor of Carter at the Washington National Cathedral.