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President Donald Trump has criticized the newly opened Obama Presidential Center, calling it trash and a disaster.The Obama Presidential Center is located in Chicago and opens to the public on Juneteenth.President Donald Trump talks often about former President Barack Obama, who left office nearly a decade ago.Trump has spent considerable time talking about the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovations as of late, saying that Obama failed to fix it. He's vowed that any upcoming deal to end the war in Iran would be different than Obama's nuclear deal. (Obama told Stephen Colbert be believed Trump said it was a bad deal because it was Obama's initiative, and it "seems to be a pattern.")Trump has also taken aim at the new Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. He posted a fabricated image on May 30 depicting a giant trash can in a parking lot under the headline, "The Obama Presidential Library." He has also called the Obama Presidential Center a "total disaster" in a Feb. 22 Truth Social post, saying it was over budget and delayed.Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett responded to these remarks while speaking to USA TODAY at a June 3 media preview of the center."Judge for yourself," she said. "When our visitors come, they will see a spectacular campus...If (Trump) would like to come and visit it himself, we would welcome him and give him a tour."The White House did not immediately comment on whether Trump planned to visit.The center, which took about a decade and $850 million to complete, is set to open its doors to the public this month. Take a look:When does the Obama Presidential Center Open?The Obama Presidential Center opens to the public on June 19, 2026.As of June 3, tickets are sold out until the end of August.Where is the Obama Presidential Center?The museum and the surrounding campus are located on Chicago's South Side in Jackson Park. It is near the University of Chicago and the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry.How much time and money went into the Obama Presidential Center?The Obama Foundation announced in 2015 that the home of his presidential center would be in Chicago. The following year, it homed in on Jackson Park, prompting a years-long federal review process as Jackson Park is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.Protect Our Parks also sued to attempt to stop construction on the historic place, but the lawsuits were ultimately dismissed. The center also faced concerns from some local community groups that the center's presence would price out local residents. The foundation touts investment in the community through the estimated 750,000 campus visitors annually and 300 permanent jobs. The Chicago City Council also passed affordable housing ordinances in the nearby neighborhoods.When the Obamas finally broke ground in 2021, they estimated the project would cost $500 million. Recent numbers from the foundation put the price tag at $850 million.The center includes the ticketed museum, a civic center with a cafe and restaurant, an athletic center, a Chicago Public Library branch, and more.Contributing: Grace Hauck, USA TODAYKinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at KCrowley@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X (Twitter), Threads, Bluesky and TikTok.
