For a party that mocks its rivals for being emotional snowflakes, the right sure is quick to whine about their aching feelings — especially when it involves Donald Trump. His ascension to supreme leader president is just days away, and as usual, the Senate is racing to approve his wildly underqualified cabinet picks. As Republicans force through the worst picks imaginable, like Pam Bondi and Pete Hegseth, they’re doing anything they can to distract Americans from the dog and pony show.
That mostly boils down to rage-filled finger-pointing, and this week the outrage is directed at none other than Michelle Obama. No, it’s not something she said or did; instead, it’s much more benign. The former first lady has declined the invitation to attend Trump’s inauguration, and MAGA Republicans can’t imagine anything more wantonly disrespectful.
Yes, that’s right, the people who plotted to overthrow the government are lecturing about decorum. Michelle Obama is skipping Trump’s impending inauguration, and Republicans are clutching their pearls. Even Donald Trump is of the opinion that he and the former president “probably do” get along after the late Jimmy Carter’s funeral in early January, another event she recently missed.
So why is Michelle Obama ruining decades of precedent just to snub the Orange Oligarch?
It’s simple, Trump’s been nothing but nasty to the Obama’s. He all but founded the birtherism movement — which questioned Obama’s eligibility to be president — and has never fully let the idea go. He weaponized it again against Kamala Harris, and anyone with two brain cells can see the correlation between the candidates gunning for “one of those Black jobs.” It’s got to be frustrating to have your husbands hard-won accomplishments questioned just because of his skin color, and Mrs. Obama has never let it go — nor should the rest of us.
Of course, his skill for insulting people is one of the things Republicans adore about Trump, so that alone isn’t reason enough for them. Rightwing talking heads like Jesse Waters have been all over social media, banging the drum of disrespect and mocking democrats for no longer responding with their 2016 slogan “when they go low, we go high.”
It’s impossible to take their faux outrage seriously. As the list of Democrats skipping the inauguration grows, an incredibly frustrating conversation is breaking out within republican circles online. Trump supporters seem to view the snubs as somehow impeding the peaceful transfer of power, all while denying the Jan. 6 attack on the capital was an attempted insurrection.
In between the posts rejoicing in her decision not to attend the event were others falling back on the tired, unfunny jokes that Michelle Obama is actually a man, and of course, outrage over the Democrats’ fall from decorum. Toxic X users are bashing Obama left and right, but there is one major factor they’ve forgotten — Trump set this precedent in 2020 after he and his entire family skipped Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Of course they have a reason for why his refusal was actually valid. According to MAGA it’s “because the Democrat Party cheated.” As usual, Republicans are showing that it’s “rules for thee and not for me,” and no one is more exempt than Daddy Trump. Like many of us who voted against Trump, the loss is still a sore spot.
“She campaigned the hardest against him personally, of anyone,” one aide said. “She’s no hypocrite,” another ally added. “She meant every word she said on the campaign trail.”
Published: Jan 16, 2025 6:30 PM UTC