The former first lady had to ‘trick’ herself into following through on her desire to skip Trump’s swearing-in.

On Jan. 20 earlier this year, Michelle Obama famously did not attend Donald Trump ‘s inauguration. At the time, the internet and the media couldn’t stop speculating why. Was she going through a health scare? Is her marriage to former president Barack Obama in trouble?

In her 2024 memoir, the 54-year-old opened up about how she felt being accused of plagiarising a 2016 speech from one Michelle Obama made eight years earlier. During her husband Donald Trump's 2016 campaign to become US president, Melania addressed the nation in her first speech to American voters.