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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
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Former President Barack Obama attended a Los Angeles Clippers game courtside on Wednesday—but noticeably without his wife, former First Lady Michelle Obama, further sparking rumors of a coming break-up.
Instead, Obama was seen sitting alongside Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and his wife, Connie Snyder, effectively third-wheeling, according to TMZ.
Despite that, the 44th president appeared to enjoy himself as he watched the Clippers defeat the Detroit Pistons 123-115.
When his presence was announced on the big screen at the newly opened Intuit Dome, Obama stood up and waved, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd, the New York Post reported. “The NBA game was the latest of Barack’s public appearances sans wife, which has brought their marriage under scrutiny,” the outlet added.
Obama, 63, notably attended President Donald Trump’s second inauguration alone in January after Michelle, a vocal critic of the 45th and 47th president, opted to skip the event.
She was also absent from her husband’s side at President Jimmy Carter’s funeral at Washington National Cathedral in D.C., with reports indicating that she chose to stay in Hawaii for an “extended holiday vacation” instead.
On Tuesday, the night before the Clippers game, Barack Obama was seen dining at the upscale Anajak Thai restaurant in Sherman Oaks with his daughters, Malia and Sasha—but once again, Michelle was noticeably absent, according to TMZ.
Despite ongoing speculation about their relationship, the couple appeared affectionate on Valentine’s Day last month, with both sharing heartfelt messages to each other on social media, The Post noted.
“Thirty-two years together and you still take my breath away,” the former president wrote in a post on X along with a selfie of the two of them mugging it up for the camera.
“If there’s one person I can always count on, it’s you, @BarackObama. You’re my rock. Always have been. Always will be. Happy Valentine’s Day, honey!” Michelle wrote with a heart emoji and the same selfie.
Shortly after Michelle announced her plan to skip Trump’s inauguration, a source familiar with her thoughts said that the former first lady would not want to fake a smile for someone she still views as a threat to American democracy.
“There’s no overstating her feelings about [Trump]. She’s not one to plaster on a pleasant face and pretend for protocol’s sake,” a source told PEOPLE magazine. “Michelle doesn’t do anything because it’s expected or it’s protocol or it’s tradition.”
According to the source, Trump’s history of attacking the Obama family and claims of making disparaging remarks about people of color have shaped Michelle’s view of him. The source added that if she were to attend his second inauguration, she would likely be expected to conceal her true feelings in the public eye.
“She served in the public eye and did all the public good that she could for eight years as first lady,” the source says of her fulfilling her official responsibilities in 2017. “You’ll see her when she has a project or cause to promote, but she doesn’t feel the need to be a public figure anymore.”
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Barack attended Trump’s inauguration but did not attend post-inaugural functions.
Michelle, who grew up in an upper-middle-class family and neighborhood before being accepted to and attending Harvard Law School, first caused a stir as Barack campaigned for the White House in 2008. In February of that year, this woman of privilege said, “For the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country because it feels like hope is making a comeback.”
She has also said, “When someone is cruel or acts like a bully, you don’t stoop to their level. No, our motto is ‘When they go low, we go high’” — at the same time she has claimed that Trump is a ‘threat to democracy’ when he’s made no such moves to disrupt America’s constitutional order. Interestingly, Michelle has not condemned President Joe Biden for using the power of the federal government to prosecute his political enemies — in this case, Trump.