On Thursday afternoon, the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago held its grand opening ceremony. The event featured a gathering of four former U.S. presidents including Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.
President Trump was reportedly not invited to the ceremony, with reports indicating he recently compared the center to a trash heap.
The opening included performances by The Roots, Christina Aguilera, and Bruce Springsteen. During his speech, Barack Obama recalled arriving in Chicago from New York over 40 years ago, driving a beat-up car so stuffed with possessions it was difficult to see out the rear window.
“It was here, in this city, the city of broad shoulders, that I found what I was looking for,” Obama said.
Michelle Obama delivered a speech contrasting the Obama era with current political conditions. She noted President Obama’s achievements during his administration while enduring attacks on his birthplace and patriotism.
“You did it all with such grace and class and cool that you made the hardest job in the world look like a walk in this beautiful park,” she said, as Obama wiped away tears.
The center’s exhibits focus on democracy’s shared values, including “the intrinsic dignity and worth of all people” and principles of checks and balances. In his remarks, Obama also referenced former Republican presidential rivals Mitt Romney and John McCain, stating that every president present had upheld values they believed in.
The center, which took more than a decade to build after years of planning and a court battle with preservationists, was described by Mrs. Obama as “a monument to our unshakable values” even during “anxious and divisive times.”
