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Emotions were high for former First Lady Michelle Obama on January 20, 2017—the day of former Republican President Donald Trump's inauguration.
Obama said she cried uncontrollably for 30 minutes straight when she boarded Air Force One for the final time at Joint Base Andrews.
She talked about her breakdown which can be heard in Michelle Obama: The Light Podcast.
CNN shared an audio excerpt here:
The former FLOTUS said:
"When those doors shut, I cried for 30 minutes."
"Straight, uncontrollable sobbing, because that's how much we were holding it together for eight years."
\u201cThe former first lady said she sobbed uncontrollably after she and former president Barack Obama took off from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. https://t.co/UCbBfgefZx\u201d— The Washington Post (@The Washington Post) 1678189503
Obama also recalled how it was an emotional day for the family.
She and her husband–former Democratic President Barack Obama–lived in the White House with their two daughters Malia and Sasha for two consecutive terms.
"We were leaving the home we had been in for eight years–the only home our kids really knew."
\u201c@washingtonpost It\u2019s hard to say goodbye to a place that was home for eight years especially knowing whose hands you are leaving it in. I think it all just hits hard on the way out\u201d— The Washington Post (@The Washington Post) 1678189503
Obama shared Malia and Sasha remembered their former home in Chicago.
The two young girls spent the majority of their lives growing up in the White House which made leaving the presidential residence even more difficult.
She said:
"We were saying goodbye to the staff and all the people who helped to raise them."
"There were tears."
Social media users admitted to feeling the same.
\u201c@washingtonpost You and me both. The women in our house cried for over a week after the election. Just suddenly burst into tears while cooking dinner or taking a shower. It was rough... and justified.\u201d— The Washington Post (@The Washington Post) 1678189503
\u201c@washingtonpost When I look back and see the blessed normalcy of President Obama\u2019s administration, I could cry every day.\u201d— The Washington Post (@The Washington Post) 1678189503
\u201c@washingtonpost Many of us cried that day. I consoled myself by thinking I was overreacting, but the following 4 years were worse than I imagined. I keep hoping some degree of respectability will return to our politics, but my hope lessens each day, but that may be bc I live in Florida.\u201d— The Washington Post (@The Washington Post) 1678189503
\u201c@washingtonpost Well so did I - with alternative bouts of nausea that Trump was living at the White House.\u201d— The Washington Post (@The Washington Post) 1678189503
\u201c@washingtonpost I did as well. I also threw up a bit knowing what we were in for. Literally did. I still miss the Obamas.\u201d— The Washington Post (@The Washington Post) 1678189503
\u201c@washingtonpost She was not alone and not only women cried. My young grandsons were seriously affected. The birthday of the youngest of the two is on Nov. 9. He told me that news of Trump\u2019s win ruined his birthday. The older couldn\u2019t go to school the Wednesday after, he was too sad. I also cried\u201d— The Washington Post (@The Washington Post) 1678189503
\u201c@washingtonpost I cried for a lot longer than 30 minutes...\u201d— The Washington Post (@The Washington Post) 1678189503
\u201c@washingtonpost We all did and every day after for 4 yrs\u201d— The Washington Post (@The Washington Post) 1678189503
She also shared her observations of the inaugural ceremony of Trump and Republican Vice President Mike Pence.
"...To sit on that stage and watch the opposite of what we represented on display–there was no diversity, there was no color on that stage."
"There was no reflection of the broader sense of America."
\u201c@washingtonpost and the tears continue, Trump has destroyed our country and he should be in jail\u201d— The Washington Post (@The Washington Post) 1678189503
Obama added her dismay over the succeeding administration–coupled with leaving Washington–registered on her face.
"Many people took pictures of me and they were like, 'You weren't in a good mood', and I was like, 'No, I was not'."
"But you had to hold it together, like you do for eight years."
After Democratic President Joe Biden became the 46th President, Trump skipped Biden's inauguration and boarded Marine One to to head to his Florida resort Mar-a-Lago.
The disgraced one-term President became the first living President to not attend his successor's inauguration in 152 years.