The Audacity (and Defiance) of Hope
The Obama Presidential Center vs. Trump’s extreme DC makeover
Barack Obama and Donald Trump don’t have much in common, but one thing they do share is an innate understanding of the importance of iconography and brand. Even though their personal brands are as different as night and day, both men are focused on how they’re perceived today, and crucially, how they’ll be remembered by future generations.
We’re seeing this play out in real time as the Obama Presidential Center opens in Chicago this week and the Trump Regime forces Extreme Makeover: Washington, DC Edition on America’s capital city. This is the future that liberals want vs. God Emperor Trump memes, expressed as public art and architecture. And while I hate to compare Trump’s self-aggrandization with Obama’s belief in America’s future, given the timing, it’s impossible for me to separate them in my head.
Let’s start with Trump’s desire to turn DC into a MAGA fever dream. It’s fascinating to me that instead of building his own monuments, structures, or even putting up a bunch of statues, he would rather destroy what already exists. Donald Trump doesn’t want to build; he wants to conquer. To make clear that the White House, Kennedy Center, Reflecting Pool, and all of DC belong to him and should be subject to his whims.
The visuals from DC, where I lived for many years, range from unsettling to weird. The East Wing torn down, Trump’s name suddenly added to the Kennedy Center, and the most recent images of the White House South Lawn turned into an Ultimate Fighting Championship arena. But Trump’s ambition doesn’t end there. On multiple occasions, he’s suggested that his face be added to Mt. Rushmore.
It mirrors what the Trump Regime has done to our Federal government since coming back into power. Enacting Project 2025, stripping America for parts, and selling it off piece by piece to enrich Trump and his cronies. If Trump’s brand is corruption, hate, and grift, then credit to him: his reconstruction is absolutely on brand. His version of DC leaves no doubt of who this man is and what his MAGA movement stands for.
Last month, when I visited the Obama Presidential Center for a preview tour with my family, I did everything I could to keep Trump out of my head and enjoy the experience without comparison or contrast, but that proved to be impossible. (Full disclosure: this newsletter, and my story of writing it, are featured in the Imagine Your Impact Exhibit. I was also an Obama Foundation USA Leader in 2023, so feel free to take my view of the campus with a grain of salt.)
President Obama has made clear in social media content and multiple interviews that he doesn’t want the Center to be a static monument to his legacy but a living community center for people to gather, and a place to inspire future leaders to become civically engaged and active. That’s a lofty goal, and one could read it as being disingenuous.
But my reaction when I toured the campus was appreciation. I’m not the most hopeful person, especially these days. Yet I couldn’t help but admire the ambition and audacity that it took to create a public space like the Obama Presidential Center. The public art installations blew me away, and I could have spent the entire day looking at nothing else. The exhibits were designed to be accessible to everyone, with Braille labels, audio labels, and objects placed low enough for small children to interact with. Public spaces abound, including a branch of the Chicago library and the most expansive inclusive playground my kids have ever played on.
As much as I enjoyed the visit, it’s hard not to feel cynical at times. The Obama Presidential Center is a monument to hope but also a reminder of where his presidency fell short, not to mention how far America has fallen since. It’s strange to be in a space that celebrates American Democracy, even one that acknowledges the imperfections and incompleteness, when a decade after Obama’s term ended, America is currently a competitive authoritarian state at best. Something I don’t think the museum grapples with enough.
Still, the very existence of the campus, a public space built for everyone-- with the intention of fostering human connection, community, and the message that anyone can become a leader -- is decidedly anti-fascist and pro-multiracial democracy. As Michelle Obama pointed out in her remarks on opening day, “that’s the work of democracy, too, being neighborly, taking care of public spaces, having some fun, enjoying each other, shaking out of the isolation and division that have crept too deeply into our lives.”
Barack Obama isn’t going to be the leader who saves us (something he and his wife Michelle have repeatedly made clear), and I wouldn’t want him to be. We need new leaders to move us forward. But the Obama story is a powerful tale about what America can be and should aspire to.
Longtime readers know I’m fascinated by America’s mythology and the narratives we tell ourselves about who we are. As the Trump Regime attempts to erase so much of our country’s history and rewrite America’s story as a MAGA myth, the Obama Presidential Center is a defiant, rebellious, and joyful rebuke. A testament to the radical notion that America could one day live up to our own ideals.
The Ask
CARD is once again an independent operation, and I have some big plans ahead, including:
Moving off of Substack next month
More livestreams
A new website
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Coda
Seattle, where I live, is one of the World Cup host cities, and this entire week has been delightful. I’ve enjoyed heading downtown to watch games in the fan zones and taking my kids to a watch party in one of our local parks (where they watched Team USA beat Australia). It’s been a lot of fun, and something I think my kids will remember for the rest of their lives.
To experience some of the joy yourself, watch this local news piece of soccer fans from around the world enjoying everything about Seattle.
I appreciate the fact that his presidential center isn’t some hagiography that tries to paper over his imperfections or instances where he may have fallen short during his presidency. It gives space for people to recognize that he’s human and it’s perfectly ok to disagree. In hindsight he probably regrets certain things as well. I look forward to visiting someday.