Former President Barack Obama and ex-first lady Michelle Obama took digs at President Trump during a three-hour ceremony celebrating their legacy at a new center in Chicago — alongside foreign dignitaries, Hollywood stars and other A-listers.
Obama said in his remarks at a dedication ceremony for his new presidential center in Chicago that on the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, it was important to remember how “radical the whole idea of self-government really was back in 1776.”
“To that point, human history was a tale of conquest and caste and rigid hierarchies. A world where the strong dominated the weak, where power and wealth and status flowed through lineage, and the many were ruled by the few,” the 44th president said.
“But out of the fire and steel of a revolution, a different story took flight on this continent a declaration that we are all created equal, endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, and that in the newly independent United States there will be no kings or lower, no serfs or subjects, but only citizens.”
“No Kings” demonstrations have swept through major cities like New York and Washington, DC, since Trump was inaugurated for a second time in January 2025, opposing the president’s immigration agenda and other policies.
Though Obama left office in January 2017, the Presidential Center’s 19-acre campus on the South Side of Chicago — with a near-windowless, 225-foot towering museum at its center — took years to build as costs ballooned from $500 million to more than $830 million.
Obama also thanked his wife and daughters, joking that Michelle “did me wrong” by not letting him review her own remarks beforehand, which had caused him to become visibly emotional.
“She knew she was going to mess me up, and she did it anyway. But she’s always made me better. And I could not be more grateful,” he admitted.
Michelle Obama praised her husband’s achievements in and out of office, needling Trump — without naming him — for having propagated “lies” about her husband’s “birthright.”
“When fact and fiction run together, when folks seek to stifle speech, limit access to education, devalue diversity, erase the inconvenient parts of our history, when our phone constantly buzz with the latest outrage,” she continued in veiled attacks at the Trump administration and Republicans, “I hope that this place can offer a respite from all that — at least for a little while.”
Michelle Obama praised her husband for “ending a war, ordering the bin Laden raid, saving an auto industry, winning a peace prize,” the final of which feat earned loud applause from his ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton seated behind him.
Trump has fumed for years about Obama winning the coveted prize, while he has not yet.
Former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Joe Biden joined the ex-first family onstage for the ceremony with their wives: first ladies Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush and Jill Biden. Former Vice President Kamala Harris and ex-German Chancellor Angela Merkel also attended.
The 46th president appeared somewhat disoriented as he left the stage following a concluding performance from Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen and other musicians, with Biden pointing in different directions as his head swiveled looking to find an exit.
“Thank you for your steadfast partnership for eight years,” Obama said at one point of Joe and Jill Biden in his speech. “Joe, we started as running mates and ended as family, and we would not be here without you. And we are grateful.”
Obama had expressed doubts about his former VP Joe Biden having the juice to win the 2020 election against Donald Trump.
He also told the 46th president that a flailing debate performance had “greatly diminished” his chances of beating Trump in 2024.
Three days later, Biden dropped out and was succeeded as the Democratic nominee by his vice president, Kamala Harris.
Comedian Dave Chapelle, actor Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, as well as other celebrities, attended the grand opening with other musical performances by John Legend, Common and Christina Aguilera.
The ceremony came in the backdrop of high-stakes foreign policy decisions in Washington between US and Iran to end the conflict.
The war began with joint American-Israeli airstrikes on Feb. 28 to decimate Tehran’s military capabilities but resulted in the closure of the Strait of Hormuz — and surging energy prices.
“We’ve learned that we can’t solve every conflict, or solve or stop every atrocity around the globe,” said Obama, whose administration had secured a nuclear agreement with Iran that had been undone by Trump in the 45th president’s term.
