In a rare assembly of America’s former leaders, Barack Obama inaugurated his presidential centre on Chicago’s South Side on Thursday flanked by Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Joe Biden — and their wives — while the current occupant of the White House was pointedly not invited. Speaking days before the nation’s 250th anniversary, Obama delivered a thinly veiled rebuke to Donald Trump’s administration, reminding the rain-soaked crowd that the United States was founded on the promise of ‘no kings or lords, no serfs or subjects, but only citizens.’ He acknowledged that the founders ‘fell terribly short’ of the Declaration’s ideals by preserving slavery and restricting the vote, yet insisted the constitutional framework they bequeathed made progress possible. The address, which also stressed that ‘no one is above the law’ and celebrated the peaceful transfer of power, was widely read as a defence of democratic guardrails under strain.

Situated on a 19-acre campus in Jackson Park, the $850 million Obama Presidential Center is no traditional library. The Obama Foundation opted against a full partnership with the National Archives, choosing instead a digital archive and a hybrid complex that combines a museum, a public library branch, a recording studio, basketball courts and a playground — a ‘living celebration of community,’ as the former first lady described it. The invitation-only ceremony drew a Hollywood-calibre roster: Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Bono and Christina Aguilera performed, while Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks looked on. Michelle Obama brought her husband to tears with a tribute recalling his composure through ‘eight years in the crucible,’ and drew laughter and cheers with an apparent jab at Trump by listing ‘winning a peace prize’ among Barack’s achievements.

Viewed from Washington, the gathering was an unmistakable show of bipartisan solidarity among the ex-presidents’ club — and a snub to Trump, who has derided the centre as a ‘dumpster’ and escalated attacks on Obama over the Iran nuclear deal. The White House responded by branding Trump the ‘Builder-in-Chief,’ contrasting his ‘on time and under budget’ renovation projects with what a spokesman called the Obama administration’s habit of overspending and underdelivering. Analysts in London note that the centre’s non-traditional structure sets a precedent Trump may exploit for his own future presidential site, potentially bypassing the National Archives’ oversight and fundraising transparency rules.

As the centre opens to the public on Juneteenth, it stands as both a monument to the first Black president’s legacy and a catalyst for civic engagement in a historically neglected neighbourhood. Yet its scale and cost have stirred local concerns about gentrification, and the absence of the sitting president underscores the nation’s polarised moment. With America’s semiquincentennial approaching, Obama’s invocation of founding ideals — and his warning against the creep of autocratic habits — will resonate far beyond the granite-and-glass campus on the shores of Lake Michigan.