Michelle Obama breaks silence on skipping Trump inauguration

Vivian Kwarm, New York Daily News on Apr 23, 2025

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Michelle Obama addressed her decision not to attend President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.

The former First Lady got candid about the controversial move while talking with her brother Craig Robinson on their podcast, “IMO With Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson.”

“My decision to skip the inauguration — or my decision to make choices at the beginning of this year that suited me — were met with such ridicule and criticism,” Michelle said on the April 23 episode. “People couldn’t believe that I was saying no for any other reason, that they had to assume that my marriage was falling apart.”

The-61-year old was quick to dispel the divorce rumors that followed her decision not to attend the inaugural festivities, reiterating that the decision was about doing what “was right” for her.

“I’m here really trying to own my life and intentionally practice making the choice that was right for me,” she explained. “And it took everything in my power to not do the thing that ‘was right,’ or was perceived as right, but do the things that was right for me.”

But the “Becoming” author admits coming to that conclusion wasn’t easy for her and she wrestled with the decision of whether to go.

“It started with not having anything to wear,” she explained. “Because I’m always prepared for any funeral, anything—I walk around with the right dress, I travel with clothes just in case something pops off. So, I was like, if I’m not going to do this thing, I got to tell my team, I don’t even want to have a dress ready.”

The mother of two shared that prioritizing herself has become a non-negotiable since spending eight years in the White House. “I’m at this stage in life where I have to define my life on my terms for the first time,” she explained. “Like what happened that eight years that we were in the White House? What did that do to me internally, my soul?”

“We made it through. We got out alive. I hope we made the country proud. My girls, thank God, are whole. But what happened to me?”