Michelle Obama Missed Jimmy Carter's Funeral Because She's in Hawaii on Vacation

The state funeral for Jimmy Carter was attended by almost every former and current president and first lady. One notable exception, though, was Michelle Obama, who was absent from the funeral proceedings, leaving Barack Obama to sit next to Donald Trump.

Following the news that she was absent, many wanted to know why Michelle was in Hawaii instead of at the ceremony. Here's what we know.

According to reporting from CNN, Michelle was not at the funeral because she is on vacation in Hawaii.

"Former First Lady Michelle Obama is not in attendance at President Carter’s National Funeral Service,” her spokesperson Crystal Carson told People. “Mrs. Obama sends her thoughts and prayers to the Carter family, and everyone who loved and learned from the remarkable former President.”

The reporting suggested that she was on an "extended vacation," adding that her advisors credited her absence to a scheduling conflict.

That's all that we know about why she wasn't in attendance, but it seems clear that her absence was not intended as any sort of slight against Carter or his family.

Every other living current and former president was in attendance for the funeral along with their spouses.

In the past, Michelle has attended these types of gatherings and often been seated next to former president George W. Bush. The two have gone viral on the internet on several occasions for appearing to tell jokes to one another and pass mints between them.

The former first lady has a rather tense relationship with Donald Trump, though, who was seated next to her husband and likely would have been seated next to her.

Even though he spent much of 2024 working to ensure that Trump did not return to the White House, he and Obama seemed to have a lengthy conversation before the service, and were seen to be smiling together.

That photo led to another viral moment, as some attacked Obama for appearing chummy with a man who he claimed was a threat to democracy. Of course, we have no idea what the two of them actually spoke about.

Michelle's absence was just one small story in a day dedicated to honoring Carter, the 39th president and a man who cemented his legacy in the years after he left office. Carter, who was 100 years old, was honored by President Biden, who delivered a eulogy paying tribute to his life of public service and his long-standing faith in humanity.

Carter was the longest-living former U.S. president in the country's history, and his death came roughly one year after the death of his wife, Rosaylnn who died in November of 2023. Carter's death also means that the Biden is soon to be the oldest living former president, followed closely by Bill Clinton, who is younger than Donald Trump, the man set to assume the office on Jan. 20.