Just a few days ago, Chicago welcomed a monument that speaks to the greatness of this nation. The Obama Presidential Center opened its doors on the South Side, and what was built there is not a library where archives gather dust. The Obama Presidential Center is a full-fledged campus that includes facilities for baseball and basketball, a playground, a public library, and an eight-story museum.
That is what a country that understands the greatness of its history does. A place where people play, read, and learn is a testament to a republic that respects its past without locking it away in display cases.
The museum that crowns the complex tells the story of the United States as a nation “striving to achieve a more perfect union.” It is the idea that Obama repeated throughout his presidency. This country is not content with what it has already achieved; it is always striving for something better. That spirit makes the world look to us with respect, even though the political class sometimes tarnishes that image.
The ceremony brought together all of the country’s living former presidents. Biden was there, with Jill. Bill Clinton and Hillary arrived together. George W. Bush, with Laura. The Obamas, of course, as hosts. Even Angela Merkel and Justin Trudeau, who were in office during the Obama era, rounded out the list of international guests. Celebrities of all kinds shared photos that the world and the internet devoured immediately.
But one absence overshadowed everything else. Donald Trump and Melania Trump did not appear in any of those images. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a mistake that cannot be covered up by fine architecture or elegant speeches.
Don’t give me any excuses. They did invite Bush, who is a Republican, but they left out the current president of the United States—the man who occupies the White House right now. And that, more than a matter of protocol, is a display of pettiness that only weakens the institution. A country that wants to show unity to the world cannot afford to exclude the leader the people elected to govern. The presidency does not belong to a party; it belongs to the nation.
The world watches every detail of these ceremonies. Foreign leaders and investors reviewing the photos notice who is missing. When Merkel and Trudeau pose with former presidents, but the current president is conspicuously absent, the message is clear. The United States is divided even in its acts of historical remembrance. That does not project strength; it projects division, and in international business, division translates into mistrust. Trading partners prefer to deal with stable nations, not with republics where the ruling class refuses to sit at the same table.
The greatness of the United States lies in the fact that a man can become president regardless of his background or party affiliation. That greatness is demonstrated when differences are set aside in the face of national symbols. The Obama Center should have been one of those symbols; it should have shown the world that the sitting president and former presidents share the stage because history belongs to everyone. By leaving Trump and his wife out in the cold, those who organized this event did more harm to the image of their own country than to any one man. And that, in my opinion, is unforgivable.
