{"id":4193,"date":"2026-06-18T09:34:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T09:34:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4193"},"modified":"2026-06-18T09:34:47","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T09:34:47","slug":"trump-fixates-on-a-new-competition-with-obama-their-libraries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4193","title":{"rendered":"Trump fixates on a new competition with Obama: Their libraries"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the Obama Presidential Center opens, Trump has mocked its design and cost while touting his own planned skyscraper.<\/strong><\/p>

Read more Trump will host Knicks at White House, owner says<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Workers at the Obama Presidential Center Museum in Chicago. (Jonathan Ernst\/Reuters)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Barack Obama\u2019s mold-breaking<\/a> presidential library has divided critics, with some calling the sprawling center “audacious<\/a>” and others dismissing<\/a> its main building as an eyesore.<\/p>\n

Among those not impressed: Obama\u2019s successor.<\/p>\n

The Obama Presidential Center Museum is \u201cnot too pretty,\u201d President Donald Trump declared last year. A \u201ctotal disaster,\u201d he proclaimed in February. His agita increased as the Obama center\u2019s Juneteenth opening approached; this month Trump twice posted<\/a> <\/b>manipulated images depicting the library, located in Chicago, as a giant trash can.<\/p>\n

Both men have sought to build libraries that break from past precedent \u2014 and past presidents. Rather than a stand-alone museum, filled with papers and notes<\/a>, Obama and his team designed a park and <\/b>other community-oriented features. Trump has proposed a skyscraper for downtown Miami, depicting it in a video as a party venue, replete with two golden statues<\/a> of himself.<\/p>\n

Only one is mocking the other about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cA president taunting in public another president about his library isn\u2019t something that has previously happened,\u201d Benjamin Hufbauer<\/i>, a University of Louisville professor who wrote a book<\/a> on presidential libraries, wrote in an email.<\/p>\n

It is, however, just the latest chapter in Trump\u2019s long career of taunting and repudiating Obama \u2014 rolling back his legislation, revoking his foreign-policy deals, even moving his White House portrait to a much less prominent location<\/a>. His own planned presidential library would feature a tower more than twice the size of Obama\u2019s.<\/p>\n

An Obama spokesman declined to comment on Trump\u2019s latest gibes, focusing instead on the mission of the 19-acre<\/a> Obama Presidential Center, which includes a basketball court, a public library and other facilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is designed to tell the story of our collective power \u2014 demonstrating that when people unite around a shared cause or mission, we can make progress, even against long odds,\u201d Eric Schultz, a senior adviser to Obama, said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The White House also declined to comment on Trump\u2019s posts about Obama\u2019s library, and instead touting Trump\u2019s project.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Trump Presidential Library will be one of the most magnificent buildings in the world and a living testament to the indelible impact President Trump has made on America and its people,\u201d Davis Ingle, a White House spokesman, said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Florida officials voted for the parking lot next to the Freedom Tower to be donated as the potential site for Donald Trump’s future presidential library in Miami. (Joe Raedle\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Presidential libraries typically serve as highly curated museums, touting the president\u2019s record and offering their interpretation of events that unfolded during their tenures. Both Obama and Trump have rejected that historic model \u2014 even as they take strikingly different approaches.<\/p>\n

Obama has conceived of his Chicago campus as a museum, education and community center \u2014 harking back to his days as a community organizer in the city. The centerpiece of the project is a 225-foot-tall tower, featuring oversize words from Obama\u2019s famous speech marking<\/a> the 50th anniversary of the Selma, Alabama, civil rights march.<\/p>

Read more Nasim Nu\u00f1ez keeps on swimming, and the Nationals keep on winning<\/a><\/p>\n

Trump has envisioned a tall skyscraper in downtown Miami, replete with a hotel \u2014 an addition that prompted a lawsuit<\/a> alleging Trump is seeking to profit off land gifted to him by state officials. The 47-story building, a height intended to evoke his status as the 47th president, would re-create Trump\u2019s Oval Office, include a space that resembles his planned White House ballroom, and contain multiple vehicles, such as a $400 million Boeing 747 gifted by Qatar<\/a> for Trump to use as Air Force One.<\/p>\n

Blair Kamin, a retired architecture critic who has previously tangled<\/a> with Trump over a large \u201cTRUMP\u201d sign that the real estate tycoon placed on his Chicago building, said the two projects reflect the two presidents and how they approach governing.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrump\u2019s proposal is emblematic of his grift-driven presidency, because it will likely contain a Trump hotel. It will be an ostensibly public building that serves his private interests,\u201d Kamin said. \u201cIn contrast, Obama has created a campus that is open to the public, that contains numerous features for the community\u201d such as a vegetable garden, a sledding hill and an auditorium intended to help train future community leaders.<\/p>\n

Kamin also noted that while both Obama and Trump are building tall buildings \u2014 \u201cunusual in presidential libraries,\u201d he said \u2014 the modernist Obama structure, which appears heavy and earthbound, differs from Trump\u2019s plans for a thin, tall and glass-covered skyscraper, which resembles his existing hotels.<\/p>\n

Both Obama and Trump have been closely involved in their projects, seeking to shape not just their legacies but the structures.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
A room in the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. (Paul Beaty\/AP )<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Obama, having repeatedly said he wanted<\/a> to be an architect, has acknowledged that he relished the opportunity to provide design input.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe made many good suggestions, and he made a few not so good suggestions,\u201d Billie Tsien, a lead architect on the project, told<\/a> the Chicago Tribune.<\/p>\n

Trump, a longtime real estate developer before entering politics, has spoken repeatedly about his own love for construction projects \u2014 a dynamic playing out as he seeks to remake Washington, too.<\/p>\n

Obama\u2019s allies have offered their own gibes at Trump\u2019s library. At a 2018 roundtable of architects<\/a> in New York, Robert A.M. Stern, who designed George W. Bush\u2019s presidential library, suggested that all presidents \u2014 even unpopular ones \u2014 are eventually honored by architects and designers.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know somebody\u2019s going to do the Trump library,\u201d Stern said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody, nobody,\u201d Tsien interjected to cheers from the crowd.<\/p>\n

Even as Trump has mocked Obama\u2019s project, he did gesture last year at finding common ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he wanted help, I\u2019d give him help because I\u2019m a really good builder and I build on time, on budget,\u201d Trump said last year in the Oval Office. \u201cI would love to help him with it.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Visa costs kept her from seeing her son\u2019s star World Cup moment. Now she\u2019s going.<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The president has mocked the Obama Presidential Center, reflecting a broader clash over how both men are seeking to redefine presidential libraries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":97,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump fixates on a new competition with Obama: Their libraries - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4193\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump fixates on a new competition with Obama: Their libraries - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The president has mocked the Obama Presidential Center, reflecting a broader clash over how both men are seeking to redefine presidential libraries.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4193\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-18T09:34:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/aa909208ab5efbd1f00b1085a8ae4561-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1706\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4193#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4193\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"Trump fixates on a new competition with Obama: Their libraries\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-18T09:34:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4193\"},\"wordCount\":1058,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4193#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/0e4bc55596fd7fd0d0a967e391a73c0a.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4193#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4193\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4193\",\"name\":\"Trump fixates on a new competition with Obama: Their libraries - Moving Insider USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4193#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4193#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/0e4bc55596fd7fd0d0a967e391a73c0a.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-18T09:34:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4193#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4193\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4193#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/0e4bc55596fd7fd0d0a967e391a73c0a.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/0e4bc55596fd7fd0d0a967e391a73c0a.jpeg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4193#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Trump fixates on a new competition with Obama: Their libraries\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Moving Insider USA\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Trump fixates on a new competition with Obama: Their libraries - Moving Insider USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4193","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Trump fixates on a new competition with Obama: Their libraries - Moving Insider USA","og_description":"The president has mocked the Obama Presidential Center, reflecting a broader clash over how both men are seeking to redefine presidential libraries.","og_url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4193","og_site_name":"Moving Insider USA","article_published_time":"2026-06-18T09:34:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1706,"url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/aa909208ab5efbd1f00b1085a8ae4561-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4193#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4193"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03"},"headline":"Trump fixates on a new competition with Obama: Their libraries","datePublished":"2026-06-18T09:34:47+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4193"},"wordCount":1058,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4193#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0e4bc55596fd7fd0d0a967e391a73c0a.jpeg","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4193#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4193","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4193","name":"Trump fixates on a new competition with Obama: Their libraries - Moving Insider USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4193#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4193#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0e4bc55596fd7fd0d0a967e391a73c0a.jpeg","datePublished":"2026-06-18T09:34:47+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4193#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4193"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4193#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0e4bc55596fd7fd0d0a967e391a73c0a.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0e4bc55596fd7fd0d0a967e391a73c0a.jpeg","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4193#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Trump fixates on a new competition with Obama: Their libraries"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/","name":"Moving Insider USA","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com"],"url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4193\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/97"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}