Michelle Obama’s Inauguration snub was always on MAGA’s radar: ‘She hates him,’ but Trump team ‘having a good laugh’

Michelle Obama skipped Jimmy Carter’s funeral on January 9, where she would have apparently been seated next to Donald Trump. Although her absence has been attributed to the “extended” Hawaii vacation, Obama divorce rumours also took flight recently. Amid all that back-and-forth speculative chaos, the former first lady is seemingly snubbing the incoming president of the United States yet again by skipping his swearing-in ceremony on January 20.

Trump team never expected Michelle Obama to attend Trump’s Inauguration

Meanwhile, the Trump team is believed to have foreseen her move from a mile away, claiming she “hates” the president-elect. Missing out on Carter’s funeral to possibly avoid sitting next to Trump is also being viewed as “her way of protesting” him, according to Page Six.

Also read | Payback for 2021? Kamala Harris’ massive snub to JD Vance again breaks Inauguration tradition

A MAGA source has since declared that those involved in planning the Inauguration Day schedules “are having a good laugh” because “they didn’t expect her to come anyway.”

Like the arrangement at the January 9 service that honoured America’s oldest living president, Barack Obama is expected to attend the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies alone. Despite this year’s snub, the former first lady was there for the Republican leader’s Inauguration in 2017.

However, she didn’t mince her words while sharing her experience of the day on ‘The Light Podcast’: “To sit on that stage and watch the opposite of what we represented on display — there was no diversity, there was no colour on that stage. There was no reflection of the broader sense of America.”

During the 2024 presidential campaign period, she again took a swing at Trump at the Democratic National Convention, saying, “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 hard-working, highly educated, successful people who happen to be Black.”

Democratic sources respond to Michelle Obama’s apparent snub

Shortly after the initial announcement of Michelle’s decision to skip the upcoming Inauguration Day, a source close to the Obamas’ circle told Page Six that she’s never been “fake” or “phony.” Revealing why she had possibly chosen not to attend the ceremony, they added, “She’s always been very deliberate about where and how she shows up. She showed up reluctantly for the election. They were united, but she doesn’t have to unify around [Trump]. She doesn’t have to say anything. Her absence speaks volumes.”

Also read | ‘First Buddy’ Elon Musk’s White House office space status revealed after Melania Trump’s ‘babysitter for Donald’ tag

In the meantime, another Democratic source defended her choice by alluding to the Trumps missing out on the sitting president’s inaugural: “Donald Trump and Melania didn’t go to Joe Biden’s Inauguration and nobody cared. No one said anything.”

Other Dems leaders attending the Inauguration

On the contrary, former US presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton are expected at the Inauguration, alongside outgoing commander-in-chief Joe Biden. First ladies who’ve previously held the position, Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton, and Jill Biden, are also poised to attend the event. NBC News has since also reported that although they will be there for the swearing-in ceremony, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush will not be there for Trump’s traditional inaugural lunch.