Star-studded opening for Obama library in Chicago delivers implied rebuke to Trump | Barack Obama
The Barack Obama presidential headquarters opened in Chicago on Thursday after more than a decade in construction amid musical fanfare that evoked a previous era and paeans to democratic principles while delivering a pointed rebuke to Donald Trump.
Featuring a cast of music stars and retired politicians from a less polarized era, it was a seemingly perfect antidote to the crude spectacle of cage fighting on the White House lawn.
Without naming the current occupant of the White House, Barack and Michelle Obama have launched full-frontal attacks on Trump’s authoritarian approach, portraying them as an affront to American values.
It was the former First Lady who made the sharpest jabs at Trump, four days after the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) competitor called himself a “man” at a match held at the White House last Sunday to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States.
In her speech, which preceded her husband’s speech and in some ways overshadowed the stage, she paid tribute to Obama’s two terms in the White House. He pointedly condemned the “lies about your birthright” that Trump peddled while planning his presidential run more than a decade ago; this was a reference to the “birther” conspiracy, which falsely claimed that Obama was not born in the United States and was therefore unqualified to be president. The Obamas have become a frequent target and obsession of the current president, who earlier this year shared a video clip depicting the couple as monkeys and then deleted it amid backlash.
“It’s ridiculous to even imagine that you can buckle under pressure,” Michelle Obama said. “How ridiculous to think that you could have done anything other than make our family and the whole country proud.”
She read about her husband’s achievements, such as “ending the war”, “winning the peace prize” and “listening to science”; This appeared to highlight some of Trump’s most famous vulnerabilities and foibles.
Trump, who lobbied relentlessly and unsuccessfully for last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, frequently claims to have ended many wars, even though the evidence for many of his claims is disputed or weak. He has also been criticized for undermining the United States’ global scientific leadership role and appointing notorious anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary.
Barack Obama’s jabs at Trump’s approach were less scathing but just as loud.
With lightly disguised sarcasm, he summed up American democracy as “the belief that our military and law enforcement owe allegiance to the people and our constitution, not to any president or political party.” [and] the belief in a peaceful transfer of power after the people speak in fair and free elections”.
Joined by former Republican President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, he went out of his way to name-check his former foes in a tribute to the bipartisanship that has largely been forgotten in the Trump era.
“Every president here today, as different as we are, has tried to do our best to support the values that John McCain and Mitt Romney believe in, no less than I have.” he said, praising the qualities of “character, honesty, integrity, kindness, compassion, sense of duty and honour”.
He added: “These are the values and traditions that I believe in, and these are not Republican or Democratic values, they are American values that we can all share.”
Speaking after Trump signed an agreement to end the war with Iran, Obama turned to US foreign policy and said: “America has made its share of foreign policy mistakes. Our actions have not always matched our rhetoric.
“But if we do our best, the United States has been an undeniable force for good in the world. All nations, including our own, become more prosperous and secure when we encourage international cooperation rather than dominating, bullying, and usurping every advantage just because we can, and most importantly, when we show by our own example that even a country as large and diverse as ours can make democracy work.”
The center’s opening on Chicago’s South Side — where the Obamas first met — was attended by two other former Democratic presidents: Joe Biden, who was also Obama’s vice president, Bill Clinton, and Hillary Clinton, who served as secretary of state in Obama’s first administration.
Many prominent Democrats, including Illinois governor JB Pritzker and California governor Gavin Newsom, who are considered likely candidates for the party’s presidential nomination, were also present, as were several liberal-leaning older foreign politicians. Among the latter were former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi.
Entertainment was provided by an impressive roster of musical stars whose presence clashed with Trump’s decision to cancel the 250th anniversary concert after several shows were cancelled. There to celebrate the opening of the Obama center were Bruce Springsteen, U2’s Bono and the Edge and Stevie Wonder, who sang Land of Hope and Dreams right after Obama spoke.
