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The Obama Presidential Center is set to open Friday in Chicago, and former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama sat down for their first joint network television interview since leaving office in 2017 to mark the occasion.
The interview aired Wednesday on ABC's Good Morning America with anchor Robin Roberts. The couple reflected on their time in the White House, the new center, and the state of the country.
Barack Obama acknowledged a difficult national mood but expressed confidence in the next generation. "People are a little discouraged right now," he told Roberts. "But, again, I believe that we go through these cycles, and there's going to be a younger generation that pops up and there are going to be leaders who pop up."
Since leaving office, Obama said he has tried to stay out of day-to-day policy debates, seeing himself less as a "player" and more as a "coach." He cited George Washington as a model for how former presidents might step back. "He kind of said, 'All right, I've done my stint. And now I'm going, you know, back home,'" Obama said. He acknowledged the pull in both directions. "I think Michelle, you know, very much would prefer a quieter life for us. And on the other hand, there've been some folks who would like to see me out every day, right, banging the drum."
When Roberts asked what he considers his greatest accomplishment in office, Obama pointed to the passage of the Affordable Care Act in March 2010. The law expanded Medicaid, provided greater consumer protections, and lowered health insurance costs, particularly for households at or below the federal poverty level.
The center's campus spans 19 acres in Chicago's Jackson Park, near the University of Chicago. At a cost of $850 million, it includes 3.7 acres of parkland, offices for the Obama Foundation, an auditorium for public events, public art, athletic facilities, and a new branch of the Chicago Public Library. The presidential archives are fully digital, developed in collaboration with the National Archives and Records Administration.
The centerpiece of the campus is a four-story museum that places the Obama years within a broader history of social change. The exhibits begin with the Declaration of Independence and move through the civil rights and labor movements before tracing the Chicago grassroots political movement that shaped Barack Obama's rise.
Part of the goal of the center, Obama said, is to "encourage the next generation of leadership." A full-length special, titled The Obama Legacy: First Joint Interview Post-White House, is set to stream Thursday, June 18, on Disney+ and Hulu.
