Obama to Skip Nancy Reagan's Funeral to Attend SXSW

BY Frank 

President Obama will not attend Nancy Reagan's funeral on Friday, opting instead to speak at a festival in Austin, Texas.

South by Southwest — an annual music, tech, and film gathering — announced last week that Obama would be the keynote speaker on March 11, and that Michelle Obama was scheduled to speak on March 16. It's the first time in the festival's 30-year history that a sitting president and first lady have participated.

Michelle Obama will be at the former first lady's funeral, which will be held at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. But White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest confirmed Tuesday that President Obama won't be there.

"The president will not attend," he said at the daily White House briefing. "The president is traveling in Texas."

Thousands to pay respects as Nancy Reagan lies in repose in Simi Valley - TODAY

Former first lady Nancy Reagan will lie in repose in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Wednesday and Thursday. Thousands are expected to visit to pay their respects.

Reagan, 94, died Saturday of congestive heart failure. She will be buried beside her husband, former President Ronald Reagan.