Michelle Obama Will Skip Trump’s Inauguration

Mrs. Obama also declined to attend the funeral of Jimmy Carter last week, which would have put her face-to-face with Mr. Trump.

Michelle Obama, the former first lady, will not attend the inauguration of President-elect Donald J. Trump, her office said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Former President Barack Obama is confirmed to attend the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies,” the statement said. “Former First Lady Michelle Obama will not attend the upcoming inauguration.”

The statement did not provide an explanation for why Mrs. Obama was skipping the inauguration, which is traditionally attended by former presidents and their spouses. But it is the second high-profile event in the past two weeks that she has declined to take part in that would have brought her face-to-face with Mr. Trump.

Mrs. Obama has expressed personal disdain for the president-elect, who pushed the lie that her husband was not a U.S. citizen and has a history of making racist and sexist statements.

“For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us,” she said during her speech at the Democratic National Convention in August.

“See, his limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hard-working, highly educated, successful people who happen to be Black,” she added.