Former and future first lady Melania Trump has criticized Barack and Michelle Obama for making her and Donald 's first move into the White House "challenging," accusing the former first couple of "withholding" information that would have smoothed the transition between administrations.

Melania Trump made a subtle dig toward the Obamas, claiming they “withheld” information from her husband during his first term in the White House that ultimately made the transition

Former first lady Michelle Obama won’t attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, though former President Barack Obama will be there, the Obamas' office said in a statement. No reason was given.

Melania Trump has criticised Barack and Michelle Obama for making her and Donald‘s first move into the White House “challenging”.

While all of the living former presidents will attend Monday’s inauguration, they have declined Donald Trump’s invite to the celebratory luncheon afterward. Former Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, nor George W. Bush will be there — and that might be making the biggest statement of all.

It’s one of the most important jobs never applied for. Unelected, yet inextricable from politics; constantly visible on the world stage, but rarely the one behind the microphone — for all its glamour, the first lady of the United States is a role of unsolicited duty, often bringing with it intense public scrutiny, including over what they wear.

After Michelle Obama’s office confirmed she will not be present at Donald Trump’s inauguration, many people have speculated about the reason for her absence.

On January 20, 2025, Michelle Obama skipped Donald Trump's inauguration. Instead, she took to Instagram to honor MLK Day, and encouraged her followers to remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "legacy of service."

With her eyes almost entirely obscured by the rim of her wool boater-style hat, Melania Trump stood next to president-elect Donald Trump on stage at the inauguration ceremony as he pledged the oath of allegiance.

The inaugural hat was like nothing so much as the broad-brimmed white hat Mrs. Trump wore during a state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife in 2018, which likewise made waves and which she auctioned off in 2022 as an “iconic broad-brimmed one-of-a-kind hat.” Her reference was herself.

The returning first lady and Barron Trump, the son she had once shielded from the public eye, used Monday’s inauguration to reintroduce themselves.