THE TELEGRAPH
In August, Barack and Michelle Obama appeared together on stage at the Democratic National Convention, launching their biggest intervention against Donald Trump during the presidential race.
The couple lapped up applause from delegates as they doled out personal attacks on the Republican nominee, who Mrs Obama accused of “ugly, misogynistic, racist lies”.
Five months – and one election loss – later, the speech also marks the last time Mr and Mrs Obama have made a public appearance together.
After skipping a state funeral for Jimmy Carter in Washington last week, Mrs Obama has confirmed that she will not attend the presidential inauguration on Monday, leaving her husband to face the fanfare alone again.
Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush will both join their husbands on Monday.
A spokesman gave no reason for her absence, after explaining that she was unable to appear for Carter’s funeral because of a scheduling conflict. It has since emerged that Mrs Obama was on holiday in Hawaii without her husband.
Her withdrawal from political life has been interpreted by some as an attempt to avoid coming face-to-face with Mr Trump, who was pictured laughing and joking with her husband at Carter’s funeral.
Some Democrats criticised Mr Obama for speaking so openly to Mr Trump after his election win – noting that Kamala Harris ignored her political rival completely.
The seating plan at the funeral, which was attended by every other former first lady, would likely have sat Mrs Obama next to Mr Trump – putting her in an awkward position after her words on the campaign trail. Although that posed no issue for Mr Obama, who is well-used to engaging with political rivals in a social setting.
Mrs Obama has previously complained about the requirements placed on her by her husband’s political career.
In Mr Obama’s 2020 book, A Promised Land, he wrote that his wife had told him she was frustrated about his long hours as a Illinois senator, telling him: “This isn’t what I signed up for, Barack. I feel like I’m doing it all by myself.”
‘Rediscovering their love’
He said the demands of eight years in the White House had placed a strain on their marriage, but that they had spent time “rediscovering their love” and “replenishing their friendship” after he stood down.
She has not appeared in public with Mr Obama since the August speech, nor posted about politics on her social media accounts.
In October, she posted on Instagram about the couple’s 32nd anniversary, thanking him for “always having my back, being by my side, and finding ways to make me smile”.
Mrs Obama’s convention speech, which saw her abandon the Obama mantra “when they go low, we go high,” was interpreted as a major victory for Ms Harris’s presidential campaign. In the room, the reception from the crowd was even greater than for her husband.
But she has firmly rejected calls from Democrats to run for president herself in 2028, despite polling that shows she would be the most popular primary contender on the ticket.
A statement from the couple on the day after Mr Trump’s election victory said the result was “obviously not the outcome we had hoped for, given our profound disagreements with the Republican ticket on a whole host of issues”. It did not name Mr Trump specifically.
‘Michelle doesn’t do anything because it’s protocol’
Mrs Obama has since released a book, Overcoming, which she describes as a “workbook designed to help you get through the challenging periods life throws our way”.
Her absence from the inauguration comes after both Mr Trump and his wife, Melania, declined to attend Joe Biden’s swearing-in ceremony in 2021, while denying the result of the election.
Connect with us on our socials: