President Donald Trump took a sharp jab at the Obama Presidential Center during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday, May 6. The discussion, primarily focused on U.S.-Canada relations and trade tariffs, was punctuated by Trump’s critique of the Chicago-based project, which he called “a disaster.”
Trump criticized the building progress and blamed it on “woke” hiring policies, implying that President Obama put diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) before efficiency. He also claimed that the project had spiraled into “massive cost overruns,” however, these claims have been contested.
During the Oval Office discussion, Trump made an unexpected detour to discuss the Obama Presidential Library, which is now under development in Jackson Park, Chicago. According to Trump, the initiative exhibits bad decision-making because of its apparent emphasis on DEI.
“I mean look, President Obama, and if he wanted help, I’d give him help because I build on time and on budget, he’s building his presidential library in Chicago. It’s a disaster,” Trump said. “And he said something to the effect, ‘I only want DEI, I only want woke.’ He wants woke people to build it. Well, he got woke people, and they have massive cost overruns, the job is stopped. I don’t know, it’s a disaster.”
However, in a recent update, the Obama Foundation stated that work is on pace to be completed by 2026. A spokeswoman denied Trump’s remarks as false, citing disagreements between subcontractors as common in large-scale projects.
The Obama Presidential Center, which spans 19.3 acres on Chicago’s South Side, aspires to serve as a focus for community participation and leadership development. Its plans include a museum, athletic facilities, a public library branch, and a garden. The initiative is privately funded and employs union labor, demonstrating its dedication to community-based principles.
In response to Trump’s claims, the Obama Foundation emphasized the center’s role as an economic catalyst for the region. “The center is a beacon of hope and a celebration of the Obamas’ legacy,” they said in a statement.
The majority of the Oval Office meeting focused on tariffs and the relationship between Canada and the United States, with Carney emphatically telling Mr. Trump that Canada is “not for sale” and “won’t be for sale, ever,” while Trump called the border between the two countries “artificial” and raised the possibility of Canada joining the United States.
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