Michelle Obama missed Jimmy Carter’s funeral because she had a scheduling conflict, according to a report.
A person familiar the former first lady’s schedule told Politico that she is home in Hawaii instead of paying her respects to the former president at Washington National Cathedral in D.C.
The former first lady was supposed to be seated next to Donald Trump, Politico reported, but her husband, Barack Obama, has filled the spot instead. He was observed laughing while he spoke to the president-elect shortly before the service began.
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“Mrs. Obama sends her thoughts and prayers to the Carter family, and everyone who loved and learned from the remarkable former President,” her spokesperson Crystal Carson told Politico.
All five living presidents—Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Obama, Trump, and Joe Biden—appeared at the service that laid Carter, who died on Dec. 29, to rest. Other notable attendees included Vice President Kamala Harris, former Vice President Mike Pence, and Hillary Clinton.
Obama has been an outspoken critic of Trump.
Michelle Obama and her husband emerged as two of the most prominent and influential proxies for Harris during her unsuccessful bid for president.
In October, Michelle went viral for an emphatic speech urging voters to cast their ballot for Harris if they cared about the safety of American women.
“We all know we have a lot more work to do in this country,” she said at the time. “But to anyone out there thinking about sitting out this election, or voting for Donald Trump, or voting for a third-party candidate in protest, because you’re fed up. Let me warn you, your rage does not exist in a vacuum. If we don’t get this election right, your wife, your daughter, your mother, we as women will become collateral damage to your rage.”
