For the first time, Michelle Obama has decided to explain why she did not attend Donald Trump‘s second inauguration.
On the latest episode of her IMO podcast, the former lawyer bravely confirmed the reports that she skipped the major political event of the year because she wanted to put her well-being first.
Mental health is a struggle she had been open about even before becoming first lady. Barack Obama‘s wife also explained that she does not want to be a phony, a value she has always held dear and one that guided her decision-making during her time in the White House.
Michelle Obama did not pioneer the dramatic break of tradition — that honor goes to Melania Trump and Donald Trump, who refused to attend Joe Biden‘s inauguration in 2021.
During her conversation with her brother, Craig Robinson, Michelle Obama revealed that she deemed it essential to protect herself from the drama, toxicity, and media scrutiny that come with being in Donald Trump’s presence.
She revealed on the new episode of the IMO podcast with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson: “It was the choice that was right for me. People couldn’t believe that I was saying no for any other reason; they had to assume that my marriage was falling apart. It took everything in my power to not do the thing that was perceived as right but do the things that was right for me, that was a hard thing for me to do.”
The businesswoman and bestselling author shared fascinating details about her decision not to attend the swearing-in ceremony. She devised an elaborate plan to trick herself into not going, a strategy that many found intriguing.
Mrs. Obama stated: “It started with not having anything to wear, 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. Because it’s so easy to just say let me do the right thing.”
She concluded: “I want our daughters, I want the young women out there… I want my girls to start practicing different strategies for saying no. After all that I’ve done in this world, if I am still showing them that I have to keep- I still have to show people that I love my country, that I’m doing the right thing, that I am always setting, going high all the time, even in the face of a lot of hypocrisy and contradiction, all I’m doing is keeping that crazy bar that our mothers and grandmothers set for us.”
While Michelle Obama might not be aware of it, Donald Trump was amused by her decision not to accompany her husband, Barack Obama, to the event.
Sources from the Trump team told Page Six that the president and his staff laughed at Michelle Obama’s “choice” not to show face.
The media outlet revealed: “MAGA sources could not care less that Michelle Obama is snubbing Donald Trump’s inauguration, a source tells Page Six. They are having a good laugh, a source says of those involved in planning the inaugural festivities. They didn’t expect her to come anyway.”
It was also revealed that no one missed Michelle Obama from the ceremony. The billionaire real estate mogul believes the inauguration was perfect without Mrs. Obama.
