Trump Blasts Obama’s Costly Presidential Library: “He Hired DEI, Not Builders”

President Donald J. Trump once again tore into former President Barack Obama’s long-delayed presidential library project in Chicago, mocking its spiraling costs, endless delays, and obsession with “woke” hiring policies.

When asked about the project Monday from the Oval Office, President Trump didn’t hold back. “He needs help…it’s not too pretty,” he said to laughter. The President went on to note that Obama had prioritized “hiring women and DEI” — shorthand for diversity, equity, and inclusion — instead of focusing on building competence.

Trump pointed out the contrast with his own Chicago skyscraper, the Trump International Hotel & Tower, which he proudly recalled was completed “ahead of schedule and on budget.” He praised the “Chicago construction workers” who built it, calling them “some of the best in the country.”

The President’s latest remarks follow similar comments from May, when he described Obama’s library as “a disaster” being built by “woke” workers.
“I mean, look, President Obama — and if he wanted help, I’d give him help because I build on time and on budget — he’s building his presidential library in Chicago. It’s a disaster,” Trump said, according to CBS News.

“And he said something to the effect, ‘I only want DEI, I only want woke.’ He wants woke people to build it. Well, he got woke people, and they have massive cost overruns; the job is stopped. I don’t know, it’s a disaster,” he continued.

Trump didn’t mince words about why the project is failing: “He wanted to be very politically correct and he didn’t use good, hard, tough, mean construction workers that I love. He wanted people that, like, never did it before, and he’s got a disaster on his hands.”

A Monument to Mismanagement

The Obama Presidential Center has become a symbol of progressive incompetence. What was once billed as a $300 million project has ballooned to more than $830 million, with taxpayers on the hook for an additional $200 million in related road and utility costs.

Officials have blamed inflation and lawsuits, but the excuses keep piling up. A recent federal lawsuit from contractor Robert McGee, owner of II in One, accuses the project’s engineering firm Thornton Tomasetti of imposing new and unnecessary construction standards — allegedly leading to “excessively rigorous and unnecessary inspections” that drove up costs and delayed work.

McGee’s company claims losses of around $40 million, arguing that Thornton Tomasetti falsely accused his firm of being unqualified while approving non–minority-owned contractors for similar work.

The engineering firm, for its part, fired back, calling McGee’s subcontractors “questionably qualified.”

Regardless of who’s to blame, the Obama library remains years behind schedule, with its opening now pushed to next year — a full decade after Obama left office.

Meanwhile, President Trump’s projects continue to stand as monuments of efficiency and precision. As he often reminds his audience: “I build on time and on budget.”