Michelle Obama is skipping Donald Trump’s inauguration because she’s “no phony,” we’re told.
While her husband appears to be playing nice with the president-elect, Michelle won’t do the same.
Former President Barack Obama and Trump appeared chummy at former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral, but Michelle was nowhere in sight because she was reportedly on an “extended holiday vacation” in Hawaii.
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She isn’t even giving an excuse for Jan. 20.
The Office of Barack and Michelle Obama simply announced that Michelle “will not attend the upcoming inauguration,” in a statement to the Associated Press on Tuesday.
And a source familiar with the Obamas’ circle told Page Six it’s “deliberate.”
“She’s never been fake and she’s never been phony. She’s always been very deliberate about where and how she shows up,” the source said.
“She showed up reluctantly for the election. They were united, but she doesn’t have to unify around [Trump]. She doesn’t have to say anything. Her absence speaks volumes,” they added.
Michelle, who celebrates her birthday on Friday, was loud and clear about her feelings on a Trump presidency when she spoke at the Democratic National Convention back in August.
“For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us. See, his limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly successful people who happen to be black,” she said.
Trump boosted the “birther movement,” the conspiracy theory that the former president wasn’t born in America, for several years leading up to his 2016 presidential run.
He eventually admitted he was wrong, but did not apologize.
Michelle initially took the high road, even attending Trump’s 2017 inauguration.
But her criticism of Trump became more pronounced during the last election while campaigning for Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Why would we normalize that type of backwards leadership? Doing so only demeans and cheapens our politics,” Michelle said at the DNC. “Most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward. We will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth. If we bankrupt a business or choke in a crisis, we don’t get a second, third or fourth chance,” she added.