{"id":1011711,"date":"2026-06-07T18:53:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T18:53:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1011711\/"},"modified":"2026-06-07T18:53:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T18:53:31","slug":"obama-foundation-invites-trump-to-visit-presidential-library-after-he-calls-it-a-disaster-and-compares-to-trash-can","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1011711\/","title":{"rendered":"Obama Foundation invites Trump to visit presidential library after he calls it a \u2018disaster\u2019 and compares to trash can"},"content":{"rendered":"

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President Donald Trump has derided the Obama Presidential Library<\/a> as over budget, <\/a>called its construction a \u201cdisaster\u201d and compared it to a trash can<\/a>. Now, the former president\u2019s foundation is extending an invitation to arguably its most vocal critic. <\/p>\n

Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett, who served as a senior adviser in the Obama administration, told USA Today<\/a> June 3 that the center would welcome Trump to view the center for himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cJudge for yourself,\u201d Jarett said during a preview of the center last week<\/a>. \u201cWhen our visitors come, they will see a spectacular campus\u2026 If [Trump] would like to come and visit it himself, we would welcome him and give him a tour.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Independent has asked the White House for comment.<\/p>\n

The $850 million Obama Presidential Library<\/a>, located in Jackson Park on the South Side of Chicago, is opening to the public Juneteenth weekend. The center documents the life and presidency of former President Barack Obama, the first Black president of the United States. <\/p>\n

\"TheThe Obama Foundation said it would welcome President Trump to the newly-built Obama Presidential Library, even after Trump\u2019s attacks (Getty)\"PresidentPresident Trump shared an AI-generated post depicting the Obama Presidential Library as deteriorated and covered in garbage, among several insults against the center (@realDonaldTrump\/Truth Social)<\/p>\n

The library sits on a 19.3-acre campus that will also house the Obama Foundation and provide public recreational spaces such as a basketball court, picnic area, playground, auditorium, classroom spaces, cafe and sledding hill.<\/p>\n

Obama Foundation Vice President of Public Engagement Josh Harris told the Associated Press<\/a> the center is a \u201csafe space for people to come\u2026 together as a community to think about what change you can bring to your own neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tickets for the museum are $30 \u2013 making it the most expensive presidential library, right behind the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, which is $29. <\/p>\n

Like all new construction, the Obama Presidential Library has faced criticisms for taking longer than anticipated to build, costing more than double its initial $300 million estimate<\/a> and for the aesthetic of the signature 225-foot stone tower. <\/p>\n

\"TrumpTrump speaks with former President Barack Obama as they attend the State Funeral Service for former President Jimmy Carter on January 9, 2025 (AFP\/Getty)\"TheThe Obama Presidential Library features a children\u2019s playground on its campus, open to the public (Getty)<\/p>\n

The center has faced a lawsuit from a local group that argued that the construction disrupted the historic park, though a federal judge dismissed the suit in 2022. <\/p>\n

Trump, who consistently rails against Obama on Truth Social<\/a> and in speeches, has repeatedly criticized the library. <\/p>\n

In February, Trump claimed Illinois was spending millions to \u201cbail out<\/a> Obama\u2019s badly delayed and tremendously over-budget \u2018library.\u201d During an Oval Office appearance in May, Trump insisted the library was \u201ca disaster\u201d and being built by \u201cwoke people.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Over the weekend, the president posted an AI-generated image of the Obama Presidential Library<\/a> \u201cfully matured\u201d in 10 years, depicting the center as abandoned and in disarray, filled with trash and surrounded by homeless encampments. <\/p>\n

Yet while he attacks his predecessor\u2019s library, Trump has also received criticism for renderings depicting his own presidential center.<\/p>\n

\"Trump'sTrump’s presidential library renderings feature a tall gold statue of the president with his fist raised (Trumplibrary.org)<\/p>\n

Trump, who plans to build his legacy library in Miami, Florida, released an AI-generated video showing examples of the glass tower, decorated with gilded accents, including a gold escalator, a giant gold statue of Trump and a replica of the president\u2019s White House ballroom. Trump has said his library was \u201cmost likely going to be a hotel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watchdog groups have sounded the alarm<\/a> on Trump\u2019s plan for a presidential library, warning of ethical violations. At least one group of Miami residents has sued to stop Trump from using land for his project.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1011712,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5311],"tags":[32017,44888,285,49,978,659,6709],"class_list":["post-1011711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-dc","tag-horizontal","tag-politics","tag-united-states","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-washington"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116710344428407156","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1011711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1011711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1011711\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1011712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1011711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1011711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1011711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}