{"id":485,"date":"2026-06-19T11:11:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T11:11:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?p=485"},"modified":"2026-06-19T11:11:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T11:11:38","slug":"the-new-obama-presidential-center-ramps-up-trumps-jealousy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?p=485","title":{"rendered":"The new Obama Presidential Center ramps up Trump\u2019s jealousy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Years before he ran, the throughline that would define Donald Trump\u2019s presidency was set: his racist, unhinged obsession with Barack Obama. Trump could have gone down in history with a minor but positive reputation, remembered vaguely but fondly by most Americans as the goofy New York character who hosted \u201cThe Apprentice.\u201d Instead, he fell into a spiral of outrage that a Black man who was smarter, more handsome and more beloved than he could ever be had been elected president.<\/p>\n

Read more What do we celebrate on Juneteenth?<\/a><\/p>\n

Trump famously spent much of 2011 pushing the racist conspiracy theory that Obama could not be a native-born citizen. This resulted in Obama mocking him while Trump seethed at the White House Correspondents Dinner, a narcissistic injury that clearly stings Trump to this day. Trump spent the next decade-plus trying to destroy Obama\u2019s legacy, which he hasn\u2019t been able to do, despite two presidential wins. If anything, Trump\u2019s malevolence and clownishness have only served to heighten the nation\u2019s nostalgia for the Obama years.<\/p>\n

\n

More importantly, this celebration of Obama\u2019s legacy landed on the same day that Trump\u2019s reputation as the worst president in history was cemented, when the current president signed a \u201cdeal\u201d with Iran that looks to any honest observer like a surrender.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

On Thursday, the contrast grew starker with the opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, which Trump was pointedly not invited to, though George W. Bush was. It was a star-studded affair, featuring blockbuster performances from megastars like Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Hudson, Christina Aguilera, John Legend, and the Roots. This adds insult to Trump\u2019s recent injury, in which a series of far less dazzling musical acts canceled their appearances at Trump\u2019s Freedom 250 event, which is ostensibly to celebrate the nation\u2019s semiquincentennial, but is dominated by Trump\u2019s ever-present desire to suck up all available attention.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

More importantly, this celebration of Obama\u2019s legacy landed on the same day that Trump\u2019s reputation as the worst president in history was cemented, when the current president signed a \u201cdeal\u201d with Iran that looks to any honest observer like a surrender in a war that Trump himself started alongside Israel. As usual when he loses, Trump is declaring he won anyway, but the details of the agreement \u2014 including an apparent $300 billion reparations fund for Iran \u2014 are making it harder than usual for him to lie his way out of this one.<\/p>\n

Seemingly unaware of the symbolism of surrendering at Versailles, Trump held a 70-minute long press conference in France on Wednesday, in which the 80-year-old president wheezed and rambled hoarsely. Trump sounded defeated and exhausted, as he was flanked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, both looking like they were sucking lemons. Trump offered his usual whining excuses and claims that everyone else but him is an idiot, but for once, he couldn\u2019t summon the bombast to make it sound like he means it. He was scheduled to be at the White House Thursday morning for press questions, but didn\u2019t show, instead sending Vice President JD Vance out to act aggrieved that reporters would not play along with efforts to spin this humiliating loss as a glorious victory.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s jealousy of Obama is almost certainly a major, perhaps primary, reason he decided to attack Iran in the first place. During his presidency, Obama had negotiated a deal with the country to stop their nuclear development program. Trump almost certainly didn\u2019t understand the details or the work that went into that effort, but seized on Republican criticisms of it as evidence for his ongoing crusade to \u201cprove\u201d that the first Black president was unqualified. One reason the Iran war dragged on for as long as it did was Trump\u2019s unwillingness to accept a worse deal than what Obama got through diplomacy. Trump only caved because, as he admitted to reporters, he\u2019s trying not to be remembered as another Herbert Hoover. (He shouldn\u2019t worry. He\u2019ll be remembered as far worse.)<\/p>\n

Read more Before SpaceX IPO, investors in China secretly acquired stakes<\/a><\/p>\n

For months, Trump has not hidden his resentment of the Obama Presidential Center, a 19-acre, $850 million installation that features a library, a basketball court, a community garden and a 225-foot tower containing a museum. Trump insisted it\u2019s \u201cnot too pretty\u201d and a \u201ctotal disaster,\u201d and claimed it would never be finished. These efforts at self-soothing are so obvious that even Fox News declined to amplify them beyond, at most, passing mention. Trump kept trying anyway, repeatedly posting an AI-generated meme on Truth Social depicting the Obama tower as a trash can and calling it \u201cMecca,\u201d a nod to his long-ago racist conspiracy theory that Obama was secretly a Muslim born in Africa.<\/p>\n

This is all the more pathetic because it\u2019s happening as Trump is failing to remake Washington D.C. over in his image. He stacked the board of the Kennedy Center with lackeys, who promptly put his name on the building, in an ineffectual effort to sully and steal the legacy of the assassinated former president. After some legal wrangling, however, plaintiffs in a public interest lawsuit were able to force Trump to take his name off the building. Trump also had the Reflecting Pool at the Lincoln Memorial repainted for $14 million to be a more garish blue, promising the job would lead to \u201cclean, beautiful water.\u201d It immediately filled up with algae and visitors have been posting videos of the 12-day-old paint already peeling off.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s other odes to himself \u2014 a ballroom on the White House and an arch that would obscure the view of the eternal flame on JFK\u2019s Arlington grave \u2014 are theoretically still in motion, with new reports about Trump pillaging the Treasury for funds to build the former, despite promising he wouldn\u2019t tap taxpayer funds. Still, Trump\u2019s track record of failure should instill hope that these efforts will also fall apart. Congressional Democrats sent a letter to National Park Services this week, warning officials that it\u2019s illegal to build the arch and threatening criminal prosecution if they proceed. Officials would be smart to heed this warning, as Democrats are expected to take the House in November\u2019s election and will have the power to prosecute if a Democrat wins the presidency in 2028.<\/p>\n

Even if Trump manages to build these illegal self-monuments, the effect will not be as majestic as he hopes. Instead, as Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., recently pointed out, \u201cHe\u2019s doing these things now because no one will honor him when he\u2019s gone.\u201d Hopefully, any damage Trump does to D.C. can be undone, but what he does build will be understood in this context: as monuments to failure, built by a man who is trying to hide the bitter truth from himself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are criticisms, both fair and unfair, of the Obama center, which are standard any time there\u2019s a dramatic change to the infrastructure of a big city. But after Thursday\u2019s ceremony, there is little doubt that the Obama Presidential Center will be a popular attraction in Jackson Park on the South Side of Chicago. That will be true for the next two years, as visitors will seek refuge from our current hell in the memory of a president that, despite his flaws, made them feel proud to be Americans. But, as a bitter Trump no doubt knows in his heart, it will likely be true after he\u2019s gone, and most Americans look at his era as a regretful disaster best left to the dustbin of history. Bruce Springsteen spoke to this at the Obama Presidential Center ceremony, performing \u201cLand of Hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTomorrow there\u2019ll be sunshine\/And all this darkness past,\u201d the Boss sang. The massive crowd was touched. It was beautiful, but still, I\u2019m petty enough to hope Trump was watching and seething.<\/p>\n

Read more Sheila E. checked off one last glamorous dream when Ringo Starr called<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Iran war loss cements the current president\u2019s failed legacy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":484,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[369,4,5,105,748,749,268,750],"class_list":["post-485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting","tag-barack-obama","tag-commentary","tag-donald-trump","tag-iran-war","tag-jealousy","tag-legacy","tag-politics","tag-presidents"],"yoast_head":"\nThe new Obama Presidential Center ramps up Trump\u2019s jealousy - Relocation Across America<\/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:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?p=485\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The new Obama Presidential Center ramps up Trump\u2019s jealousy - Relocation Across America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Iran war loss cements the current president\u2019s failed legacy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?p=485\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Relocation Across America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-19T11:11:38+00:00\" \/>\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=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/?p=485#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/?p=485\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba2572fa1a7a241291fdc36bdae80fcf\"},\"headline\":\"The new Obama Presidential Center ramps up Trump\u2019s jealousy\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-19T11:11:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/?p=485\"},\"wordCount\":1351,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/?p=485#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/eae3b12a50288c9be4dfe5f42b751d59.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Barack Obama\",\"Commentary\",\"Donald Trump\",\"Iran War\",\"Jealousy\",\"Legacy\",\"Politics\",\"Presidents\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/?p=485#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/?p=485\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/?p=485\",\"name\":\"The new Obama Presidential Center ramps up Trump\u2019s jealousy - Relocation Across America\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/?p=485#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/?p=485#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/eae3b12a50288c9be4dfe5f42b751d59.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-19T11:11:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba2572fa1a7a241291fdc36bdae80fcf\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/?p=485#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/?p=485\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/?p=485#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/eae3b12a50288c9be4dfe5f42b751d59.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/eae3b12a50288c9be4dfe5f42b751d59.jpg\",\"width\":1692,\"height\":1142,\"caption\":\"CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JUNE 18: Former U.S. President Barack Obama stands on stage with daughter Sasha Obama during the dedication ceremony for the opening of the Barack Obama Presidential Center in John Lewis Plaza on June 18, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. 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