Former First Lady Michelle Obama did not attend the state funeral Thursday for former President Jimmy Carter.
The noticeable absence was spotted by many viewers who took to social media to question the former First Lady's whereabouts.
Obama's office confirmed she did not attend the funeral but did not say where she was or why she was absent.
“Former First Lady Michelle Obama is not in attendance at President Carter’s National Funeral Service," according to the statement from spokesperson Crystal Carson. "Mrs. Obama sends her thoughts and prayers to the Carter family, and everyone who loved and learned from the remarkable former President.”
CNN reported before the funeral that the former first lady had a scheduling conflict and remained in Hawaii, where she had been on an “extended vacation.”
Former President Barack Obama was in attendance at the funeral, and was seated next to President-elect Donald Trump.
Barack Obama appeared to speak cordially to his Republican successor. During NBC News' special report, Trump could be seen exchanging words and laughs with Obama.
Except for Michelle Obama, all of the living former presidents and their spouses were at the funeral, sitting in the front pews of Washington National Cathedral behind only President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and their spouses.
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Former Democratic President Bill Clinton and his Republican successor, George W. Bush, were also in attendance. Trump shook hands with his own former vice president, Mike Pence, who was a loyal ally until he refused to go along with Trump's efforts to remain president after losing the 2020 election to Biden.
State funerals for former presidents are among the few events that bring together the nation's most prominent leaders of past and present, along with dignitaries from all branches of the U.S. government and representatives of foreign leaders.
The dignitaries will gather again in Washington on Jan. 20 when Trump is sworn in for his second term in the White House. Michelle Obama's spokesperson did not immediately say whether the former first lady would attend the inauguration.
