President Barack Obama won't attend the Friday funeral of former first lady Nancy Reagan because he's scheduled to be at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival in Texas.
First lady Michelle Obama
will represent the White House at the funeral.
Former first lady Hillary Clinton also will be there,
her campaign announced on Twitter.
Breibart News reports modern presidents don’t traditionally attend the funerals of former first ladies, noting that at the death of Betty Ford in 2011, former first ladies Rosalynn Carter, Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Nancy Reagan all were at the service.
President George W. Bush also went to the Betty Ford funeral instead of his wife Laura, but neither Obama nor Bill Clinton was there, Breitbart News notes.
Obama created a firestorm when he failed to attend the funeral of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, though he did go to a memorial service for the revered conservative jurist.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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