Pelosi skips out on Trump inauguration days after Michelle Obama backs out
Nancy Pelosi has become the latest Democratic Party heavyweight to announce that they will not attend Donald Trump’s inauguration next week.
A spokesperson for the Former House Speaker, whose disdain for the President-elect is well documented, confirmed the news on Thursday, days after Michelle Obama announced that she would also not be there.
Senior leaders of both parties typically attend presidential inaugurations, though Trump snubbed Joe Biden at his ceremony in 2021 – becoming the first president to refuse to not attend a successor’s swearing-in since 1869.
Trump is set to be sworn in for his second term on Monday, January 20.
Pelosi returned to Washington earlier this month after having hip replacement surgery in Germany following a fall in Luxembourg in December. However, representatives for the veteran Democrat did not specify the reason for her absence at the inauguration.
However, she and Trump have been known for their rocky relationship. Trump previously branded her “Crazy Nancy,” while Pelosi famously tore up a copy of Trump’s State of the Union speech in 2020.
The viral moment came after Trump appeared to ignore Pelosi offering him her hand before he began his address.
The former Speaker did, however, attend Trump’s first inauguration in 2017.
News of Pelosi’s absence from Monday’s ceremony, first reported by ABC News, comes just days after former first lady Michelle Obama announced she would also not be in attendance.
According to People, Obama made the decision because she didn’t want to “plaster” on a smile for someone she believes is a threat to American democracy. “Michelle doesn’t do anything because it’s expected or it’s protocol or it’s tradition,” the source said.
Trump has regularly insulted and attacked the Obama family, referring to the former president as “Barack Hussein Obama,” and his comments about people of color have “contributed to Michelle’s opinion of him.”
Barack Obama will be attending the inauguration, alongside fellow former presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush.