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Michelle Obama is skipping Donald Trump’s inauguration because she’s “no phony,” we’re told.
While her husband appears to be playing nice with the President-elect, Michelle won’t do the same.
Former President Barack Obama and Trump appeared chummy at Jimmy Carter’s funeral, but Michelle was nowhere in sight because she was reportedly on an “extended holiday vacation” in Hawaii.
And she isn’t even giving an excuse for January 20. The Office of Barack and Michelle Obama simply announced she “will not attend the upcoming inauguration” in a statement to the Associated Press on Tuesday, and a source familiar with the Obama’s circle told Page Six it’s “deliberate.”
“She’s never been fake and she’s never been phony. She’s always been very deliberate about where and how she shows up,” the source said.
“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,” they added.
Michelle, who celebrates her birthday on Friday, was loud and clear about her feelings on a Trump presidency – and his treatment of her family – when she spoke at the Democratic National Convention back in August.
“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 successful people who happen to be black,” she said.
Trump boosted the “birther movement,” the conspiracy theory that the former president wasn’t born in America, for several years leading up to his 2016 presidential run. He eventually admitted he was wrong, but did not apologize.
Michelle initially took the high road, even attending Trump’s 2017 inauguration, but her criticism of Trump became more pronounced in the last election while campaigning for Vice President Kamala Harris. On the campaign trail, she condemned his treatment of women, and has alluded to to him “cheating others to get further ahead.” Donald and Melania noticeably skipped President Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration, two weeks after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
“Why would we normalize that type of backwards leadership? Doing so only demeans and cheapens our politics,” she said at the DNC.
“Most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward. We will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth. If we bankrupt a business or choke in a crisis, we don’t get a second, third or fourth chance,” she added.
“If things don’t go our way, we don’t have the luxury of whining or cheating others to get further ahead. We don’t get a chance to change the rules, so we always win,” she said, “If we see a mountain in front of us, we don’t expect there to be an escalator to take us to the top.”
The former FLOTUS has been absent on the poltiical front since Trump defeated VP Harris. Barack is confirmed to attend Trump’s inauguration. Former presidents and their spouses — George W. and Laura Bush, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Joe and Jill Biden — are also expected.
A rep for the Obamas did not get back to us.
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