George W. Bush was all smiles at a star-studded ceremony honoring one of President Donald Trump’s least-favorite predecessors.
The former Republican president, 79, walked out onstage hand-in-hand with his wife, Laura, at the opening of the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Illinois, on Thursday.
The Bushes sat with Bill and Hillary Clinton to their left, and Joe and Jill Biden to their right. Only Trump and Melania were missing from the lineup of living presidents and first ladies, despite Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett saying that Trump would be “welcome” to a tour.
Reached for comment, a White House official referred the Daily Beast to Trump’s latest Truth Social posts. Over the weekend, Trump wrote, “The Obama Library ten years from now will be a ‘Mecca’ for those who hate America!”
The packed guest list was treated to performances from Bruce Springsteen, Christina Aguilera, Stevie Wonder, U2’s Bono and The Edge, and Jennifer Hudson, among others.
Barack and Michelle treated the Bushes, Clintons, and Bidens to a private tour of the museum ahead of the Thursday ceremony. The Obama Presidential Center is a 19.3-acre campus in Jackson Park that houses a museum, a library, and a basketball court. It also boasts a vegetable garden, playground, and massive lawn.
The museum also features a replica of the Oval Office, which contains a letter that Bush wrote to Obama during their transfer of power in 2009.
“Congratulations on becoming our President. You have just begun a fantastic chapter in your life,” Bush wrote. “Very few have had the honor of knowing the responsibility you now feel. Very few know the excitement of the moment and challenges you will face.”
During their reunion, Bush gifted Michelle a tin of Altoid mints in a throwback to their lighthearted exchanges at the funerals of Sen. John McCain and former President George H. W. Bush in 2018.
Bush and Michelle have been unlikely pals since 2009.
“I get a little antsy, as I’m sure you know, and I was sitting next to Michelle. That’s who I sit next to at funerals,” Bush told his daughter, Today show host Jenna Bush Hager, earlier this year. “And I was kind of teasing her and stuff, and I slipped her an Altoid. Not as a joke, but I thought she might want one.”
“And I got in the car afterwards, and you said, ‘You’re trending,’” he added, referring to his daughter. “I didn’t know what ‘trending’ meant.”
But not everyone was excited for the opening of the Obama Presidential Center. Trump didn’t mince words on the project last year.
“He needs help. It’s not too pretty,” he said in October. “It’s closed, it’s stopped, they ran out of money, he’s building a library-slash-museum and they’re stuck.”
