Marital Status for Former First Couple

Recent questions concern the marital status of Barack and Michelle Obama.

Married since 1992, and with their daughters Malia (born in 1998) and Sasha (b. 2001) now adults, the 44th U.S. president (b. 1961) and former first lady (b. 1964) are now subject of rumors about their status.

Michelle was absent at both the funeral for 39th U.S. president Jimmy Carter and the inauguration for the re-elected 45th and 47th U.S. president Donald Trump.

This has people—and the media—questioning if there is trouble in the marriage of the Obamas.

I find it credible…more so given Michelle’s absence at Carter’s funeral. Her absence at Trump’s inauguration can be explained as disapproval and displeasure. That she was not willing to attend. But to be absent at Carter’s funeral, where she could have been seated away from Trump, stands out. 

It will be interesting to see if anything is coming up.

It would not surprise me if they are in trouble. Marriages, even ones which lasted more than 30 years, have been known to end. And a lot of what we learn, historically, is information not revealed until much later. A divorce would be the first in U.S. history for a former first couple. If that is to materialize, I would not be surprised if it turns out—as this publishing date—they may be separated.

Donald Trump—Once Again—Is President of the United States!

Following his first term as the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump begins his second non-consecutive term as the nation’s 47th president on Monday, January 20, 2025 at 12:00 p.m. ET.

What I am wanting from the second term of Trump’s presidency is improvement with the economy, for people to be able to better survive, and for support for Ukraine to end. I also want an end to the conflict, and the genocide, in Gaza. And, of course, a Ceasefire agreement was reached last week. (Credit not to Joe Biden…but to Trump.)

We will find out how it goes with Trump’s second term. I do not have my hopes up. But I am more encouraged, rather than discouraged, especially given the end of the presidency of Joe Biden (and whoever else has also earned [dis-]credit for that debacle). Perhaps there is some light.

How was your vacation?

After taking a six-week break—like a vacation—from writing and publishing blog topics, Progressives Chat returns to normal schedule.

The break was necessary for me, personally, because I was burned out to some extent. I thank the regulars, here at Progessives Chat, for their understanding.

During my break, I watched some entertainment content which is not of importance. It was good for me. I watched the 1989 film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, which is not good and not funny, but it was harmless. I found myself streaming some episodes of the Fox/ABC series 9-1-1, which is often absurd but has appealing and well-developed characters and an excellent cast led by Angela Bassett and Peter Krause, and I am glad I did. I also followed with other content, as I played catch-up with a given series, which I had previously overlooked.

I still watched some content creators for politics…but less so. I took some time off from some political topics which are not worth my attention or concern—like what is to come of this post-Election 2024 Democratic Party (my suggestion: Go the way of the Whigs!)—and this was also good.

My break was not without some problems. 

I experienced a plumbing issue, with a rusted pipe, on Christmas Day. This was a pipe connected to my kitchen faucet. I have no basement; crawl space, instead.. I discovered the problem, that there was leakage, immediately. It was replaced the following day. 

Not once but twice…I experienced a furnace which stopped working. The second occurrence was for good. It died just one hour after midnight New Year’s Eve-to-New Year’s Day. Fortunately, my house includes a family room [an addition] which has its own wall furnace. So, I stayed in that part of the house—while the main areas of my house dropped as low as 50 degrees—on January 1 and 2, 2025. The next day was the installation of my new furnace.

Thanksgiving is in November. But, these are some reminders—one month later—of why I feel thankful. These problems could have been worse.

Next week: Donald Trump returns to the office of the presidency of the United States.

Welcome, 2025!

It is a new year: 2025.

Nice, rounded number.

The last such nicely rounded number of a year: 2020.

That was not a good year.

May 2025 be a good year for us all.

Regularly scheduled topics will resume next Monday, January 13, 2025.