What’s up with Michelle Obama, and why care?
The news is that Michelle Obama is skipping Trump’s inauguration:
“There’s no overstating her feelings about [Trump]. She’s not one to plaster on a pleasant face and pretend for protocol’s sake,” a source close to the former first lady told People Magazine. “Michelle doesn’t do anything because it’s expected or it’s protocol or it’s tradition.”
“She served in the public eye and did all the public good that she could for eight years as first lady,” the source said of Obama fulfilling her duties at Trump’s 2017 inauguration. “You’ll see her when she has a project or cause to promote but she doesn’t feel the need to be a public figure anymore,” they continued.
Longtime allies of Michelle Obama also told The Hill they believed her decision to skip the inauguration was an act of resistance.
I’ve never been one to write much about Michelle Obama, either pro or con. Any interest I retain in her is simply because I realize that a lot of people – a lot, perhaps even a majority – would vote for her were she to run for president. Fortunately, she’s never given any indication of wanting to do that, despite almost constant rumors to that effect.
The explanation for the news about Michelle not attending the inauguration is a good example, however, of her inflated sense of self-righteousness for an act of rudeness. “Resistance”? I guess she’s once again not proud of the US, her default position.
However, I also find the announcement interesting coming on the heels of Michelle’s no-show at the Jimmy Carter funeral. I would have thought that would be an event she might have attended. Was her problem that Trump would be there, too? Her husband didn’t seem to mind. Or is it actually that she is through with public life except when it’s completely on her terms and she’s the star of the occasion? That’s my guess.
Then of course there are divorce rumors. That’s always a possibility, but it wouldn’t be my first bet.
ADDENDUM: In only tangentially related news, Ivanka Trump says she’s “through with politics” and won’t be involved in her father’s new term.
I’m with you, Neo. Michelle doesn’t want to be part of events at which she’s not going to be a center of attention.
I don’t care if she’s there or not.
Over the last 15 years I’ve started to notice a strange oxygen depletion caused by the presence of black women in almost every situation, call it a hunch…
Nope. It’s not because she’s black, it’s because she’s a knee-jerk leftist and narcissistic.
I do think she’s being authentic and … she won’t be missed.
I do wonder, as I would, how much she might have been pressured to run in 2020 and 2024 by top Dem leadership, including Barack, and what bad blood might remain from that.
Yes, yes, I know she didn’t want to run, but I doubt that would stop those leaders from twisting Michelle’s arm to man up and be a good soldier for the Party.
There’s no guarantee of course she would have won in either year, but it’s hard not to imagine she would have done better than bottom of the barrel candidates, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, who were both crutched to the nomination by party bigwigs.
Given the huge stakes of losing to Trump, the Democrat party is now out of power and effectively leaderless.
Can’t stand the horrid racist woman – but understand not wanting to go to such events…Geez, do people expect attendance to such Govt gatherings for life?!
Count me in with those uninterested in Michelle Obama. I was bored with her when they were putting her face on every damned magazine, I was tired of her when my coworkers were paying to attend her speeches and raving about how “inspiring” she was, and the sooner she abandons public life and attendance at official events the happier I’ll be.
She could probably be the next Oprah, if she were willing to do a fraction of the work Oprah has done (and still does).
“[Michelle Obama]’s not one to plaster on a pleasant face and pretend for protocol’s sake. Michelle doesn’t do anything because it’s expected or it’s protocol or it’s tradition.”
For the very first time in all these years, I can stand with Michelle Obama.
Yes, there is a place for protocol, for tradition, for ceremony. I do respect it (when I was a young know-it-all, I didn’t.) “[S]he doesn’t feel the need to be a public figure anymore.” After all those years as a public figure, that’s good enough for me. Honest.
“Longtime allies of Michelle Obama also told The Hill they believed her decision to skip the inauguration was an act of resistance.” Whatever floats your boat, Mrs. Obama. From *her* standpoint, in *her* bubble, it’s understandable and natural. Whatever.
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Hey, didja notice? — in the second paragraph of the quoted foxnews dot com excerpt, “the source said” is followed by “they continued”. “They”. Whatever (again) . . .
Yeah no, there are way too many examples of this phenomenon from Fani Willis to Stacy Abrams to Karine Jean-Pierre to Maxine Waters to Kamala Harris – the list goes on – of powerful black women specifically being a special kind of narcissists.
The laundry list is practically a propositional inventory of Dunning-Kruger in their level of self-confidence being cut with unimaginable incompetence. Not only incompetence, but enough detectable insecurity as to be insufferable when you’re in its presence.
It’s especially vile, and it’s a huge plus that “The Moose” won’t be at Trump’s inauguration.
Former presidents and their wives who are able are routinely expected to attend inaugurations and funerals for former presidents. Trump and Melania did not attend the Biden inaugural, thus breaking that tradition, so maybe Michelle feels she’s free to do as she chooses. It’s not a big deal one way or the other.
Maybe Barack wants a divorce so he can have a wife that’s female.
“However, I also find the announcement interesting coming on the heels of Michelle’s no-show at the Jimmy Carter funeral.”
According to the reports I saw, Mrs. Obama’s spokesperson(s) explained that she had a scheduling conflict. (She was vacationing in Hawaii at the time.) Whatever (yet again).
Perhaps someone who some have tagged “Big Mike” is going to ditch Obama.
I think the “Big Mike” thing, besides being crass, is kind of anatomically ignorant. You don’t get a pelvis like Michelle Obama’s (scroll down a bit if you clicked the link) from a Y chromosome. Her hips are significantly wider than her shoulders, not everybody’s type physically, I get that, but the literal opposite of masculine.
The NYPost over hypes Melanie Trump’s statement on how Barack Obama kept Trump in the dark from the start of his first term, beginning before the latter’s Inauguration.
The Post calls Melania’s words “viscous” in the headline; in fact, it is truthful — if possibly cutting.
https://nypost.com/2025/01/16/us-news/melania-trump-says-obamas-withheld-information-during-transition/
This Truth should hurt the Obama’s. But who here will agree it will?
Well, reportedly Harris and Emhoff have declined to give Usha Vance a tour before move-in. Seems petty. Fortunately, the Navy has stepped in to help her with floor plans, childproofing needs, etc.
I also think the references to Michelle O., calling her a man, are nonsense. She’s a tall, large-framed woman of west African descent. Such women have large hips. Many African-American men find it more attractive than, say, Swedish women. The longer, slimmer body profile which men of European descent tend to favor is found in east Africa rather than west Africa.
Re: Michelle Obama as man
Well, Joan Rivers said MO is trans! 🙂
–“Is Michelle Obama Is A Man? | Joe Rogan & Kurt Metzger”
https://youtu.be/LPg6H43Incw?t=90
Maybe Michelle is ill?
There are also rumors that Kamala and Doug are getting divorced.
I think it’s perfectly fine if she does not wish to attend. I don’t think her husband should be expected to attend, merely welcome to attend. Ditto the Bushes, the Pences, the Clintons, the Gores, the Quayles. Were I Trump, I’m not sure I’d want any of them there. One person who should be debarred is Richard Cheney.
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Mooch has been taken to task for not attending Mr. Carter’s funeral. How many times did they ever meet?
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We do not have the aptitude for pageantry that the British have and we do not have a proper king. Perhaps we might just leave ceremonial to religious occasions. Have the President sworn in at Independence Hall in Philadelphia with a half dozen people present.
I also think the references to Michelle O., calling her a man, are nonsense.
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To be humorous, your point of departure has to be a true aspect of a person or situation. The ‘Big Mike’ babble isn’t humorous. It’s just a puerile insult.
Well, reportedly Harris and Emhoff have declined to give Usha Vance a tour before move-in. Seems petty.
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Spiro Agnew and his family lived in a residential hotel. (If I’m not mistaken, Albert Gore Sr. and his family lived in the same building ca. 1955). There was no official residence for the Vice President until 1977 or thereabouts. Why not return to that state of affairs?
when my coworkers were paying to attend her speeches and raving about how “inspiring” she was
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She’s a satisfactory public speaker. Not a talent everyone has.
Over the last 15 years I’ve started to notice a strange oxygen depletion caused by the presence of black women in almost every situation, call it a hunch…
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Try hanging around nurse’s aides, office clerks, and short-order cooks and maybe you feel better about your world.
Other than being married to Barrack Obama, what has Michelle ever done to warrant all the attention she gets? If she truly doesn’t want to attend, whatever the reason, she shouldn’t. That she chooses to make a grand public announcement of this fact displays a childish and petty nature – and severe lack of confidence.
It might not be entirely Trump.
There are also regular reports that Michelle is mad at the Biden clan over the fallout from her friend Kathleen Buhle’s messy divorce from Hunter Biden.
I see we have the usual suspect excusing bad behavior by Democrats again.
I’m in agreement with Art Deco on the quasi-monarchical aspects of US formal occasions. And with the whole concept of a “First Lady” having some status other than the wife of the elected president.
Tyrus suggested on Gutted last night that we should stop picking on Michelle because it might cause her to decide to run for president. Similar to Barack saying Trump would never run.
the difference was the press served as a wurlitzer for obama, ratifying the insults, also Trump had a message that was different from the rest, gingrich had some of these elements, but romney drowned him out,
michelle has the same three notes, about victimization, and racism and not about the real economic circumstances, now last time they crashed the economy, to make sure obama would win, so it’s a possibility,
obama had layed the seeds with his community agitating a decade before, see wallison and morgenstern, he was as artificial a candidate as kamala,one might say he served as antibody to the next round of jive, they would peddle to people,
the iraq was unpopular, I understand that, the ones who fought it were most dissapointed with the way they were hamstrung and the rise of the islamic state hydra, punctuated their deep frustration
Other than being married to Barrack Obama, what has Michelle ever done to warrant all the attention she gets?
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Her work life during the period running from 1995 to 2008 was DEI on steroids. She was paid handsome salaries for vague duties as an institutional diversicrat. Her salary at the University of Chicago hospitals doubled when BO was placed on a legislative committee dealing with the medical sector. What W. Lewis Amselem (“Diplomad 2.0”) said: “In Latin America, the function of the first lady is to launder the bribes”. (Her last position was so crucial it was eliminated in a hiring freeze when she vacated it).
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Had she been presented with ordinary carrots and sticks (or even ordinary levels of AA), she’d have had a different life. Perhaps she’d have earned her degrees at Illinois state schools and entered a small time law practice or sold real estate. What’s interesting about both of them is that they’ve had a simulacrum of a life rather than the real thing.
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You want another example of someone who has held one position after another with little evidence she ever had the skills for them? Anita Hill. The perpetrators in that case were the same: higher ed administrators. (And, like MO, this was preceded by several years wherein she held public sector patronage positions a friend arranged for her).
“Have the President sworn in at Independence Hall in Philadelphia with a half dozen people present.” – Art Deco
If we could upvote, I’d upvote this statement to the maximum upvotes available.
Yes on a smaller inauguration! We’re getting something closer this year. Because of severe cold, the ceremony and speeches will take place in the Capitol rotunda.
Yay! Stickittodaman! Right on!
She may not like Trump. She may be tired of George W. Bush’s puppydog affection. But more than that she’s tired of DC and politics.
Will she divorce Barack? More likely they’ll just live separate lives like the Clintons. She doesn’t have anyone else lined up (that we know of), she may be tired of Barack, but she doesn’t hate him, and she doesn’t want to give up the perks that come to an ex-president’s wife.