President Obama Will Not Make Nancy Reagan’s Funeral, Attending SXSW Instead

President Obama will be missing Nancy Reagan’s funeral due to a previously scheduled engagement at SXSW in Austin, TX. 

Former First Lady Nancy Reagan’s funeral is scheduled for Friday, March 11 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. However, President Obama has been announced as a keynote speaker at SXSW where he will sit down with Evan Smith, editor of the Texas Tribune, regarding civic engagement and the role technology can potentially play with increasing political involvement and solving global issues. First Lady Michelle Obama, instead, will attend the funeral on behalf of the POTUS and herself. She is also scheduled as a keynote speaker at SXSW, but not until March 16.

Historically it’s not uncommon for presidents to not attend the funeral of a First Lady. When First Lady Betty Ford died in 2011, Rosalynn Carter, Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton and Nancy Reagan all attended. Ex-President George W. Bush went because wife Laura had other travel plans. But Obama and former President Bill Clinton did not attend the funeral. Former First Lady Hillary Clinton will be in attendance at Nancy Reagan’s funeral. It is unsure if former President Clinton will attend.