It’s now less than a week until our long national nightmare ends. On Monday, Joe and Jill Biden will pack their last remaining personal items, including Joe’s collection of sippy cups and pudding spoons, and leave the White House for the final time. Donald and Melania Trump, after the president-elect’s second inauguration, will move back in, and President Trump can finally get to work setting some things to right in Washington.
Speaking of the inauguration: It’s the usual form for former presidents and their wives to attend these functions. That’s a good tradition; former presidents form a small and exclusive club, and if one can set aside partisanship for just a moment (yes, I know), they have some very compelling things in common, having all held the most stressful job in the nation. But this time, Michelle Obama is making some waves by declining to attend Trump’s inauguration with her husband.
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, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush 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.
This isn’t the first such event she’s skipped.
No explanation was given for why Michelle Obama was skipping Trump’s inauguration. She also did not attend last week’s state funeral in Washington for former President Jimmy Carter. Former presidents Trump, Obama, Bush and Clinton and their spouses attended — except for her.
The former first lady’s absence at these functions could raise a lot of questions. Are the Obamas having marital difficulties? Is this latest refusal to attend a sign that Michelle Obama is peeved with her husband’s chumminess with the president-elect at the funeral of President Carter? They did seem to be chatting like old pals, even sharing a guffaw or two at various moments.
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But honestly, the best answer to her absence is this:
So what?
Granted, it’s Michelle Obama’s choice whether to attend or not, and she has made it. It’s no secret that she didn’t care for life in the White House, and it may simply be that she doesn’t care to be reminded of the time when she and her husband had actual responsibilities, as opposed to their current Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. In the end, though, Michelle Obama, despite her marriage, is now a private citizen – no more, no less – and other than tradition, there’s no real compelling reason she should feel obliged to attend the inauguration of Donald Trump. Her husband, the former president, is attending, and that’s enough to satisfy protocol. And, candidly, there are plenty of reasons that the Trumps should be satisfied with her absence.
What’s delicious about this upcoming great day is that, reportedly, Her Imperial Majesty Hillary I, Dowager-Empress of Chappaqua, will be attending with her husband, former President Bill Clinton. She and the outgoing vice president are the only two members of an exclusive club: Democrat women who have lost presidential elections to Donald Trump. One hopes there will be a camera on Her Imperial Majesty’s royal mug throughout the proceedings because it’s a safe bet some of her facial expressions will be priceless.
