Melania Trump returned to Washington, D.C., in style this week.

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.

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.

Melania Trump took a swipe at the Obamas over what she claims was a “challenging transition” in 2017. The incoming first lady’s dig follows Michelle Obama ’s decision to miss President-elect Donald Trump’s second inauguration next week.

Former first lady Michelle Obama will not attend the inauguration of President-elect Trump on Monday, the second time in two weeks that she will be absent from a significant event.

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."

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.

The inauguration was the second gathering of U.S. presidents and their spouses that Michelle Obama has missed in recent weeks.

Other former presidents and first ladies are expected to attend as are tech billionaires Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos.

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.

Exploring how First Lady fashion became political theater, from Jackie O to Melania Trump,revealing gender bias where women's style overshadows policy in public discourse