When 39th president of the United States Jimmy Carter tragically died at 100 years old on December 29, 2024, he left behind a legacy of public service and peanut farming. His politically star-studded funeral took place on January 9 at the Washington National Cathedral, with the service lasting a couple of hours. All previous (and incoming) presidents still alive were able to attend, and they all seemed to get along for the most part. However, there was one notable absence. Previous first lady Michelle Obama was not by her husband Barack Obama’s side for the major event.

While there’s definitely a shady side to Michelle, her absence at Carter’s funeral doesn’t seem to fall into any sort of sordid category. According to the Associated Press, there wasn’t an initial reason given for her absence, but Michelle’s spokesperson, Crystal Carson, did release a statement, saying, “Mrs. Obama sends her thoughts and prayers to the Carter family, and everyone who loved and learned from the remarkable former President.” CNN was the first publication to state that Michelle simply had a scheduling conflict and remained in Hawaii as part of an extended vacation.

Even with Michelle Obama notably absent from Jimmy Carter’s funeral, both she and husband Barack Obama were able to send their joint support ahead of time. On the day of Carter’s passing, both Michelle and Barack crafted a joint social media statement they then posted on Instagram. The post includes an image of the former first lady and president meeting Carter, as well as images of the statement they put out together detailing the legacy Carter left behind.

The Obamas captioned the post: “President Carter taught all of us what it means to live a life of grace, dignity, justice, and service.” And in continuing that legacy, Barack himself was seated next to Donald and Melania Trump. Should Michelle have attended, she would’ve likely gotten the hot seat right next to the Trumps. Considering the fact that Melania can’t stand Michelle, it was possibly for the best that Michelle skipped the event — in the name of keeping the peace. All in all, everyone was able to be cordial with each other, even Donald was able to say something nice about Carter. According to NPR, the incoming president was able to muster out, “[Carter] was a good man. I knew him a little bit, and he was a very fine person.”