Trump Says 'Screw Your Library,' Plans Presidential Hotel Tower in Miami — Takes a Shot at Obama’s 'Ugly, Overpriced' Chicago Project

There are two types of people in this world: the “let’s preserve history in a quiet building with books” crowd, and the “what if history had a penthouse suite and a minibar” crowd. Unsurprisingly, Donald Trump just planted his flag firmly in the second camp.

In classic Trump fashion, the former president came out swinging, not just pitching his own presidential library concept, but absolutely body-slamming Barack Obama’s Chicago project in the process.

Let’s start with Trump’s vision, because honestly, it sounds less like a library and more like a Vegas pitch deck. Forget dusty archives and field trips where kids pretend to care. Trump says his “presidential library” in Miami is going to be a full-blown skyscraper hotel. We’re talking revenue-generating machine, luxury vibes, museum space sprinkled in, and—because subtlety is illegal—a retired Air Force One on display. It’s part history, part hospitality, part “yeah, I built that.”

And his reasoning? Brutally simple:

“I don’t believe in building libraries or museums.”

Which, honestly, is the most on-brand quote imaginable. Why build something that sits quietly when you can build something that charges $700 a night and sells branded bathrobes?

But Trump didn’t stop at hyping his own project. Oh no. He took a detour straight to Chicago and unloaded on Obama’s Presidential Center, as it owed him money.

According to Trump, Obama’s library is:

“Very unattractive”
“Not in a good location”
“Seriously late”
“Seriously over budget”

That’s not criticism—that’s a Yelp review you leave after getting food poisoning.

Now, to be fair, Obama’s Presidential Center hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing. Originally pegged somewhere in the $300–500 million range, construction costs alone have ballooned past $615 million. Add in hundreds of millions more in taxpayer-funded infrastructure, plus years of delays, lawsuits over environmental concerns, and debates about displacement in Jackson Park… yeah, it’s been messy.

But here’s where things get interesting. This isn’t just Trump being Trump (though, obviously, it is that too). It’s actually a pretty stark shift in how presidential legacies might work going forward.

Traditionally, these libraries are nonprofit, archival-heavy, and about as exciting as a group project in high school. Trump’s basically saying: “What if instead of a library no one visits, we built something people actually want to go to—and spend money at?”

Love him or hate him, that’s a very 2020s mindset. Monetize everything. Even history.