Star-studded opening for Obama library in Chicago delivers implied rebuke to Trump

From left, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Malia Obama and Sasha Obama in Chicago, Illinois, on Thursday. Photograph: Win McNamee/Getty Images View image in fullscreen From left, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Malia Obama and Sasha Obama in Chicago, Illinois, on Thursday. Photograph: Win McNamee/Getty Images Star-studded opening for Obama library in Chicago delivers implied rebuke to Trump Musical stars and retired politicians from less polarised era seeming antidote to cage fights on White House lawn The Barack Obama presidential center opened in Chicago on Thursday after more than a decade in the making amid a musical fanfare and paeans to democratic principles that evoked a previous age, all while delivering an implied rebuke to Donald Trump . Featuring appearances by a cast of musical stars and retired politicians from a less polarised era, it was a seemingly perfect antidote to the crass spectacle of cage fights on the White House lawn. Without naming the current White House occupant, Barack and Michelle Obama launched full-frontal attacks on Trump’s authoritarian approach, depicting them as an affront to American values. View image in fullscreen The Obama presidential center in Chicago. Photograph: Victor Hilitski/EPA View image in fullscreen ‘Every president here today, as different as we are, has tried our best to uphold values that John McCain and Mitt Romney believed in, no less than I did.’ Photograph: Victor Hilitski/EPA It was the former first lady who aimed the sharpest barbs at Trump – four days after an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) competitor called her “a man” during a bout held at the White House last Sunday to mark the US’s 250th anniversary. In a speech preceding – and in some respects, upstaging – her husband’s address, she paid tribute to Obama’s two terms in the White House. She pointedly denounced “the lies about your birthright” peddled by Trump as he was eyeing a presidential run more than a decade ago – a reference to the “birth” conspiracy that falsely claimed Obama had not been born in the US and was therefore unqualified to be president. The Obamas are a frequent target – and fixation – of the current president, who earlier this year shared, and then deleted amid outcry, a video clip depicting the couple as apes . View image in fullscreen From left, Joe Biden, Jill Biden, George W Bush, Laura Bush, Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Photograph: Tannen Maury/UPI/Shutterstock “How absurd it is to even imagine that you might have buckled under the pressure,” Michelle Obama said. “How absurd it is to imagine that you might have done anything but make our family and this entire country proud.” She recited her husband’s achievements – including “ending a war”, “winning a peace prize” and “listening to science” – a recitation that seemed to draw attention to some of Trump’s most notorious sensitivities and weak spots. View image in fullscreen John Legend and Common. Photograph: Tannen Maury/UPI/Shutterstock Trump