President Barack Obama will skip the funeral of a former First Lady to attend a tech festival.
The White House made the announcement on Tuesday regarding the Friday events.
Obama will not attend former First Lady Nancy Reagan’s funeral on March 11, instead keeping to his scheduled appearance at the South by Southwest Festival in Texas.
Instead, Obama’s wife Michelle Obama will attend the funeral to represent the White House.
The perceived snub has left some infuriated, although Breitbart noted that there’s precedence. In 2011, when former First Lady Betty Ford died, Obama and former president Bill Clinton didn’t attend.
Obama did praise Reagan in a press conference.
“I think it’s been well documented the extraordinary love that she had for her husband, and the extraordinary comfort and strength she provided him during really hard times,” Obama told reporters at the White House. “As somebody who is lucky enough to have an extraordinary partner in my life as well, I know how much she meant not just to President Reagan but to the country as a whole. He was lucky to have her… She will be missed.”
Former First Lady Hillary Clinton will also attend the funeral.
