Michelle Obama said she 'stopped even trying to smile' at Trump's inauguration
- Michelle Obama said she that she felt unable to put on a happy face and smile at President Donald Trump's inauguration.
- She decided to stop trying when she thought more about the reality of having Trump as president.
- Obama makes the revelation in her new book, "Becoming," where she also reflects on her reaction to Trump's win over Hillary Clinton.
- "I will always wonder about what led so many, women in particular, to reject an exceptionally qualified female candidate and instead choose a misogynist as their president," she wrote.
Michelle Obama "stopped even trying to smile" at President Donald Trump's inauguration in 2017 because she was so disappointed in his election.
In her new book, "Becoming," Obama said that she made the decision after reflecting on what Trump's presidency meant.
"The vibrant diversity of the two previous administrations was gone," Ms. Obama says in audio of the book released by ABC.
"Someone from Barack's administration might have said that the optics there were bad, that what the public saw didn't reflect the President's reality or ideals, but in this case, maybe it did.
"Realizing it, I made my own optic adjustment. I stopped even trying to smile."
She also further opened up about her reaction to Trump's win and his defeat of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
"I will always wonder about what led so many, women in particular, to reject an exceptionally qualified female candidate and instead choose a misogynist as their president," she wrote.
While there are photos of Obama smiling at the event, it is typically when she is with her husband or when talking to allies and friends, such as former vice-president Joe Biden.
Read more: Michelle Obama says she will 'never forgive' Trump for putting her 'family's safety at risk'
In the interview with ABC's "Good Morning America," Obama said that "being the commander in chief is a hard job."
"You need to have discipline. You need to read and you need to be knowledgeable. You need to know history. You need to be careful with your words.
"But voters make those decisions and once the voters have spoken, we live with what we live with," she said.
Obama's book reveals more of her feelings about Trump.
She wrote that she would "never forgive" Trump for promoting the false birther conspiracy that he pushed for years, questioning the authenticity of former President Barack Obama's birth certificate and his American citizenship.
"What if someone with an unstable mind loaded a gun and drove to Washington?" she said."What if that person went looking for our girls? Donald Trump, with his loud and reckless innuendos, was putting my family's safety at risk. And for this I'd never forgive him."