Michelle Obama Breaks Silence on Skipping Donald Trump’s 2025 Inauguration: “It Was the Right Choice for Me”
Michelle Obama has finally addressed her controversial decision to skip Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration, setting the record straight in a candid conversation about personal agency and the pressures of public life.
Former president Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama at the opening night on day one of the 2023 US Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 28 in New York. | Source: Getty Images
“My decision to skip the inauguration — what people don’t realize is that my choice, made at the start of this year to prioritize myself, was met with so much ridicule and criticism,” the former first lady explained.
“People couldn’t accept that I said no for my own reasons; they had to assume something was wrong with my marriage,” she added, without naming names.
Michelle’s absence from the ceremony sparked widespread speculation, especially given the tradition of former presidents and first ladies attending. A statement from the Office of Barack and Michelle Obama confirmed that former President Barack Obama would attend the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies alone, while Michelle would not.
With Barack present alongside every other former presidential couple — including Bill and Hillary Clinton and George and Laura Bush — Michelle’s no-show fueled rumors of marital trouble. Some critics pointed to her earlier absence from former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral, three months prior, further stoking gossip. CNN’s Jeff Zeleny reported at the time that Michelle was still in Hawaii on an extended vacation and unable to attend due to a scheduling conflict.
Now, Michelle is offering her own explanation — and it has nothing to do with her marriage.
“It’s like, while I’m here really trying to own my life, intentionally practicing making the choices that are right for me,” she said.
Michelle has long been open about her emotional experiences tied to political transitions. She previously revealed that she “uncontrollably sobbed” aboard Air Force One after Donald Trump’s 2017 inauguration, reflecting on the end of an era that had been deeply personal for her family.
“We were leaving the home we had lived in for eight years — the only home our kids really knew,” she said, noting that Trump’s inauguration crowd lacked the diversity she and Barack had worked hard to represent. “There was no reflection of the broader sense of America,” she recalled. “No, I was not [in a good mood]! But you had to hold it together, like you do for eight years.”
Now, free from the constraints of political life, Michelle says she is finally learning to prioritize her own needs. Appearing on the April 9 episode of Work in Progress with Sophia Bush, she spoke candidly about the freedom — and fear — that comes with making decisions solely for herself.
“I can’t blame my decisions or indecisions on anyone but me,” she admitted, reflecting on how she had used her roles as a mother, first lady, and public figure as reasons to avoid making personal choices.
“I used their lives as an excuse for why I couldn’t do something,” Michelle said.
Michelle and Barack Obama during the unveiling of their official portraits during a ceremony at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery on February 12, 2018, in Washington, D.C. | Source: Getty Images
Today, she’s embracing a new chapter, where all her choices are hers to own — a shift she finds both empowering and daunting.
“It is whatever I want…all of my choices are for me,” she said, adding with a laugh, “It was a great excuse before: ‘I’m sorry, I can’t come — I’m married to the president.'”
Michelle described her decision to skip the inauguration as a pivotal moment of self-assertion.
“It took everything in my power not to do what was expected, but to do what was right for me,” she said. She admitted the choice was not easy, calling it “an important test for me just as a woman, as an independent person.”
“Like a lot of women, I often operate from guilt — asking, ‘What should I do? What’s best for everyone else?'” she added. “It’s easier to say, ‘I did this because it was what I was supposed to do.'”
Ultimately, Michelle Obama’s absence was never about public optics — it was about making a decision for herself, one she didn’t feel obligated to explain.
In the end, it was a deeply personal choice — one she believes she owed to no one but herself.
