--- title: Obama Gives Pointed Remarks on 'American Values,' Without Naming Trump description: Former President Barack Obama spoke about “shared values that make democracy possible” at the opening of his presidential center on Thursday. canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/06/18/obama-presidential-center-opening-chicago/ author: Connor Greene article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-06-18T21:20:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-06-18T22:07:29.848Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama Gives Pointed Remarks on 'American Values,' Without Naming Trump og:description: Former President Barack Obama spoke about “shared values that make democracy possible” at the opening of his presidential center on Thursday. og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/06/18/obama-presidential-center-opening-chicago/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltac62b2a5c54776ab/6a345cc50198f85565824b1f/GettyImages-2281615108.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: GettyImages-2281615108.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama Gives Pointed Remarks on 'American Values,' Without Naming Trump twitter:description: Former President Barack Obama spoke about “shared values that make democracy possible” at the opening of his presidential center on Thursday. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltac62b2a5c54776ab/6a345cc50198f85565824b1f/GettyImages-2281615108.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # ‘No Kings’ and the ‘Peaceful Transfer of Power’: Obama Gives Pointed Remarks on ‘American Values,’ Without Naming Trump > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Connor Greene](https://time.com/author/connor-greene/) ## Connor Greene Editorial Fellow Jun 18, 2026 9:20 PM UTC  Former President Barack Obama speaks at the opening of the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Illinois, on June 18, 2026. Former President Barack Obama speaks at the opening of the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Illinois, on June 18, 2026. Kent Nishimura—AFP/Getty Images by [Connor Greene](https://time.com/author/connor-greene/) ## Connor Greene Editorial Fellow Jun 18, 2026 9:20 PM UTC Former President [Barack Obama ](https://time.com/4632190/historians-obamas-legacy/)detailed his hopes for the U.S. and what he described as the “shared values that make democracy possible” while speaking at the opening ceremony for his [presidential center](https://time.com/article/2026/05/07/obama-presidential-library-may-be-the-last-normal-one/) in Chicago on Thursday, in remarks that never explicitly referenced the [current President](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people/2026/donald-trump/) but at multiple points appeared to direct criticism toward his Administration. Noting the upcoming [250th birthday](https://time.com/article/2026/06/15/trump-rally-america-250-anniversary-celebrations/) of the U.S., Obama reminded a crowd of hundreds outside the newly constructed center that upon the country’s founding in 1776, “a different story took flight on this continent, a declaration that we are all created equal, endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, and that in the newly independent United States, there will be [no kings](https://time.com/article/2026/03/28/no-kings-protesters-take-to-streets-in-towns-and-cities-across-the-u-s-/) or lords, no serfs or subjects, but only citizens, each of us free to pursue our own version of happiness.” He went on to describe “the shared values that make democracy possible,” including “a belief in checks and balances in our government, and an accountability that comes with an independent judiciary and a robust free press, a belief that our military and law enforcement owe allegiance not to any president or political party, but to the people and our Constitution,” as well as “a belief in the [peaceful transfer of power](https://time.com/4566735/obama-trump-presidential-transition-history-origins/) after the people have spoken in fair and free elections.” **Read More:** [_Why Obama’s Presidential ‘Library’ May Be the Last Normal One_](https://time.com/article/2026/05/07/obama-presidential-library-may-be-the-last-normal-one/) The ceremony marking the opening of the Barack Obama Presidential Center was filled with well-known faces. Musical artists including Bono, [Bruce Springsteen](https://time.com/7358663/bruce-springsteen-ice-trump-streets-of-minneapolis-song-release/), Stevie Wonder, and John Legend delivered performances around Obama’s address. Former Presidents [Joe Biden](https://time.com/article/2026/05/27/why-biden-is-suing-the-department-of-justice-trump-response-lawsuit/), [Bill Clinton](https://time.com/7013750/bill-clinton-dnc-highlights/), and George W. Bush were also in attendance and on stage with the Obama family, along with their respective First Ladies [Jill Biden](https://time.com/article/2026/06/11/jill-biden-talks-her-new-memoir-and-2024/), [Hillary Clinton](https://time.com/7012525/dnc-hillary-clinton-glass-ceiling/), and [Laura Bush](https://time.com/4287906/laura-bush-presidential-candidate/). Obama emphasized that the values he outlined were not partisan, stating that “every President here today, as different as we are, has tried our best to uphold” them and adding that his Republican opponents in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, [John McCain](https://time.com/4993304/john-mccain-donald-trump-feud-remarks/) and [Mitt Romney](https://time.com/6314288/mitt-romney-donald-trump-reputation/), believed in them “no less than I did.” Former President Donald Trump was not invited to attend the event. Obama acknowledged at another point in his speech that “it’s tempting to give in to cynicism and even despair, to stop trying,” but urged Americans to fight. “When we stop believing that voting matters, that citizenship matters, that our collective voices matter, that how we treat each other no longer matters … we open the door to the most ruthless or the most careless or the most fearful among us who see some groups and some people as more equal than others and see government as nothing more than a way to divvy up the spoils and punish enemies and keep those who are different in their place,” he said. But, he added, “I do not believe that is the story of America that prevails in the end … and I remain convinced that the overwhelming majority of Americans feel the same way.” Former First Lady Michelle Obama spoke before her husband, praising his “stubborn optimism and unflinching courage” throughout his presidential terms. “You were unflappable at every turn, always focused, always calm, always looking at the long view,” she said. In perhaps the most pointed of the veiled jabs directed toward Trump on Thursday, Michelle Obama, after enumerating her husband’s many accomplishments, including winning the Nobel Peace Prize––which Trump has long coveted and [openly campaigned for](https://time.com/7324832/trump-loses-nobel-peace-prize-maria-corina-machado/)––said that former President Obama has “proven that a lasting legacy isn't an award or name on a building or a number of zeros in a bank account, but the difference we make in one another's lives.” **Read More:** [_All the Things Trump Has Put His Name and Face on as President_](https://time.com/article/2026/03/27/trump-name-face-signature-currency-government-buildings-programs/) She ended her remarks by stressing the power of hope, which she said “is all we have.” “Hope is the essential spark that lights the fire of change,” she said. “But hope is a choice, whether or not we use our voices to speak up is a choice.” Other notable political figures in attendance on Thursday included former Vice President Kamala Harris, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, as well as international faces such as former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, former Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, and former Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau. The 19.3-acre campus of the Obama center is located on the South Side of Chicago, where the Obamas lived for many years, and features a museum, a community hub, a branch of the Chicago Public Library, recreation spaces, and a handful of outdoor spaces that will be open to the public throughout the year. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/06/18/obama-presidential-center-opening-chicago/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/06/18/obama-presidential-center-opening-chicago/"},"headline":"‘No Kings’ and the ‘Peaceful Transfer of Power’: Obama Gives Pointed Remarks on ‘American Values,’ Without Naming Trump","datePublished":"2026-06-18T21:20:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-06-18T22:07:29.848Z","description":"Former President Barack Obama spoke about “shared values that make democracy possible” at the opening of his presidential center on Thursday.","url":"https://time.com/article/2026/06/18/obama-presidential-center-opening-chicago/","keywords":["Obama"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltac62b2a5c54776ab/6a345cc50198f85565824b1f/GettyImages-2281615108.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Connor Greene","jobTitle":"Editorial Fellow","url":"https://time.com/author/connor-greene/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltac62b2a5c54776ab/6a345cc50198f85565824b1f/GettyImages-2281615108.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GettyImages-2281615108.jpg","caption":"","creditText":"Kent Nishimura—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/obama/","name":"Obama"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/06/18/obama-presidential-center-opening-chicago/","name":"‘No Kings’ and the ‘Peaceful Transfer of Power’: Obama Gives Pointed Remarks on ‘American Values,’ Without Naming Trump"}}]}] ```