The Obama Presidential Center opened in Chicago with former Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, along with former President Joe Biden, appearing at the dedication ceremony. President Donald Trump did not attend, and organizers said he was not invited.
Former President Barack Obama formally opened the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago during a dedication ceremony that brought an unusually large gathering of past presidents to the same stage. Obama appeared alongside former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, and former President Joe Biden.
Trump, the only living current or former U.S. president not present, did not attend. Organizers said he was not invited to the invite-only dedication event, which the Obama Foundation framed as a celebration focused on supporters and the work behind the center.
In his remarks, Obama urged Americans to resist cynicism and division and argued that democratic institutions work best when leaders treat government as a public trust rather than as a tool to reward friends or punish opponents. He did not mention Trump by name.
In the days surrounding the opening, Trump continued to take aim at Obama online, including by sharing AI-generated imagery that mocked the presidential center’s tower.
A CNN poll conducted by SSRS and released around the opening found 57% of Americans held a favorable view of Obama. The same poll put Trump’s favorability at 34%.
Separately, the claim that Trump referenced Obama eight times at a recent G7 press conference could not be confirmed by major contemporaneous reporting or official transcripts, and details of that tally remain unclear.
