Michelle Obama shared a poignant message during the build-up to President Donald Trump’s inauguration as the former first lady decided to stay away from the festivities.
Obama, whose husband Barack Obama was in attendance, chose to share a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. on Instagram just a couple of hours before Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States.
The occasion coincides with the public holiday honoring the American civil rights leader.
The 61-year-old posted the quote: “The time is always right to do what is right.” The message was also in support of the non-profit group When We All Vote.
“Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of service always inspires me,” Obama wrote. “This #MLKDay, I hope you’ll join me and @WhenWeAllVote in honoring Dr. King’s life and legacy by getting involved in your community.”
Michelle Obama decided to skip Trump’s inauguration, pictured here at his first in 2017 (Getty Images)
“Whether you’re mentoring students at your local school or volunteering for a cause that matters to you, it all helps make a difference. Tell me how you’re giving back today in the comments,” she added.
Some of Obama’s Instagram followers shared messages of support for her decision to miss the inauguration.
“We are celebrating him [King Jr] today and not this nonsense in the capital,” one person commented.
“The only person we’re acknowledging today, “ another wrote. “Thank you for NOT attending any of the orange festivities,” someone else said, with an emoji of a clown face.
“We understand your absence,” another supporter told Obama. “The hypocrisy that it is okay to not accept the results of an election and treat you and your family with so much vitriol. Trump was abhorrent to you, he was abhorrent to Biden. Gets old trying to be the bigger person when you’re up against a man-child. We support you.”
Obama joined fellow former president Bill Clinton at Trump’s inauguration (Getty)
“We love you even more for the decision you made on MLK day,” another added.
Comments on Obama’s post were largely supportive but a handful said it was “disgraceful” that she was not in attendance today. “Disgraceful that you are not attending the inauguration. This is supposed to be a peaceful transition from one party to another,” one person said.
Obama is reported to have skipped Trump’s inauguration because she doesn’t want to “plaster” on a smile for someone she fundamentally believes is a threat to American democracy, according to a report last week.
It was confirmed by her office that she would not be attending Trump’s swearing-in but they did not give any further explanation in the brief statement.
Representatives for Obama did not respond when previously contacted for comment by The Independent.
Speculation about her absence from Trump’s inauguration has been rife since her announcement but a source close to Obama offered insight into the decision, according to People.
Trump is sworn in as 47th President of the United States (2025 Getty Images)
“There’s no overstating her feelings about [Trump]. She’s not one to plaster on a pleasant face and pretend for protocol’s sake,” the source told the outlet.
“Michelle doesn’t do anything because it’s expected or it’s protocol or it’s tradition.
“She would be expected to swallow her feelings in the spotlight if she attended his second inauguration.”
Despite a great deal of pressure on her to run for the presidency on the Democratic ticket in future, Obama has largely shunned politics since leaving Washington and “doesn’t feel the need to be a public figure anymore,” according to People’s source.
Both Donald and Melania Trump refused to attend Joe Biden’s swearing-in in January 2021, making them the first American leaders not to attend the succession since 1869.
Obama, who served as first lady from 2009 to 2017, did attend Trump’s first inauguration in January 2017 and later revealed her discomfort at being expected to sit in the audience and watch him be sworn in as commander-in-chief.
“To sit on that stage and watch the opposite of what we represented on display, there was no diversity, there was no color on that stage,” she said on her show The Light Podcast in 2023.
