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CNN Live Event/Special
The Obama Presidential Center Opening Ceremony. Aired 12:30-1p ET
Aired June 18, 2026 - 12:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:30:00]
VALERIE JARRETT, OBAMA FOUNDATION CEO: -- I have to tell you, I am so tempted to sing my own rendition of Amazing Grace, but I think I'll save that for another day. Instead, I invite everyone to cheer and dance and get on your feet and enjoy yourselves.
This is a campus for everybody, whether you live down the street or on the other side of the world. And we hope you are going to come back again and again and again. To President and Secretary Clinton, to President and Mrs. Bush, to President and Dr. Biden, all of our foreign dignitaries and elected officials who are here, we are honored by your presence.
(APPLAUSE)
JARRETT: To our Obama campaign and White House teams, to our generous supporters, this day would not have been possible without you. To our neighbors who showed up to countless community meetings and shared their hopes and dreams and, yes, their concerns with us, we hope we have made you proud.
To the thousands of talented folks who designed and built this magnificent campus and whose names are forever memorialized in the forum building right behind me, thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
JARRETT: To our Board of Directors, Marty Nesbitt, our Chairman, all of the members of the Board who provided exceptional oversight and guidance and support, and to my amazing team whose dedication and commitment to excellence have made our programs, the center, and this celebration all exceptional, thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
JARRETT: We'd also like to take a moment to recognize the original inhabitants of the land upon which we are gathered today. We honor the Anishinaabe, the Council of Three Fires, the Ojibwe, the Odawa, and the Potawatomi Nations.
(APPLAUSE)
JARRETT: And to our family and friends whose unwavering love and support helped sustain us throughout this incredible journey, thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
JARRETT: And lastly, thank you, Barack, Michelle, Malia, and Sasha, for your grace and your service to this country, each in your own way.
(APPLAUSE)
JARRETT: So I grew up on the south side of Chicago, riding my bike right through Jackson Park. This community is home to me, and it is home to the Obamas. I first met Michelle and Barack 35 years ago.
They were engaged to be married. Malia and Sasha were a glimmer in their eyes, and they were just beginning their careers. They didn't know what path their lives would take, but they were both committed to a life of service.
They were two very young and talented people who wanted to leave the world a little better than they found it. Now, a lot has obviously changed since then, and I'm not just talking about Barack's hair color. Sorry about that.
But I'll tell you what has not changed. What hasn't changed is Barack and Michelle's devotion to family and friends, their values, some of the same values we teach our young leaders. Integrity, courage, imagination, resilience, and yes, empathy. And their unmistakable belief, their unshakable belief, that to whom much is given, much is expected.
I am so grateful to them for our deep friendship that has withstood the test of time, and for bringing me along on this extraordinary journey. Now, of course, that history wasn't made by the Obamas alone. It was made by countless people upon whose shoulders they stand, and those who have stood by them through all the ups and downs, including many of you who are here today.
People who refused to accept the status quo, who wanted to be part of something bigger and more important than themselves, and who came together to work towards a common goal. When I think about all that hard work, and the purpose of this new center, it reminds me of a story about one of our former organizers, our field organizer, Ashley Baia (ph).
(APPLAUSE)
JARRETT: It was 2007, in the heat of the primary. I traveled to Conway, South Carolina, to try to convince a couple dozen undecided voters to support Barack Obama. Ashley, who was a 20-year-old white woman from Florida, greeted me pretty confidently as we walked in the room.
And she kicked us off by sharing her personal story with the group. She told us that when she was nine years old, her mom lost her job and her health insurance after being diagnosed with cancer.
[12:35:06] In order to help save money to pay for treatment, Ashley convinced her mom that she loved mustard and relish sandwiches. Yes. So for a year, that's what Ashley found in her lunchbox.
She told the group that she supported Barack Obama for a simple reason. He cared. He cared about making sure that all Americans could have essential and affordable health care.
After Ashley spoke --
(APPLAUSE)
JARRETT: So after Ashley spoke, we went around the room, and each person talked about what they were there for, what they cared about. They wanted to hear about all kinds of things that the senator was proposing, his plans to create jobs, help veterans, save the environment.
Then, about two-thirds of the way around the room, an older black gentleman said, rather matter-of-factly, you know, I'm not here to listen to what you have to say about any particular issue. I'm here because of Ashley. I know her. I trust her. And because of her, Barack Obama has my vote.
Ashley's here today. Where are you, Ashley?
(APPLAUSE)
JARRETT: She's not going to stand up. Now we know there's a little bit of Ashley in all of us. Real change is not predestined, nor does it happen simply because of someone's title or station or status. Real change depends on trust, the kind of trust that was built between a young white woman from Florida and an older black man from South Carolina.
That's what Barack's campaigns were all about. That's what Barack and Michelle's eight years in the White House were all about. That's what the center is all about. This is not a monument to the Obamas, you guys. This is a tribute to all those who made their journey possible.
(APPLAUSE)
JARRETT: Inside this museum and throughout this magnificent campus, you're going to find the stories of ordinary people who did extraordinary things. Stories that show the inevitable zig and zag of our efforts to perfect this nation, but that nonetheless paved the way for Barack Obama's presidency and everything achieved during his eight years in office.
This center is also a challenge to the next generation of changemakers because our work is never done. In the words inscribed on the outside of the museum building, we each have the glorious task of continuing to improve this great nation of ours.
This center may be named for the Obamas, but it is built for you.
(APPLAUSE)
JARRETT: So let's celebrate. There are thousands of people enjoying themselves right now on the Midway. So let's check in with our host who's in the middle of the action.
Yes, she's an actor.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we're going to continue to monitor this very, very moving, really exceptional program that's underway right now in Chicago, the South side of Chicago. And let me get some thoughts.
First of all, Van, what do you think?
VAN JONES, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, first of all, watching Michelle Obama dabbing her eyes while Jennifer Hudson just blew the sky off the sky with that. It was just amazing to see. And, you know, they did dream an impossible dream. It is an impossible dream to be, you know, some kids in the South side of Chicago thinking you're going to make the world better.
And then they did make the world better. I thought that was extraordinary. I also just think that Valerie Jarrett is a national treasure. She was a tough boss. Man, she was tough. And you were scared to take a pencil home or a paper clip because she -- those rules, the ethics were enforced.
And so we kind of moved away from that now in the White House. But to see her there, she's from the South side of Chicago. They had to go through a lot of community concerns to get to where they are now. I thought she spoke beautifully and well.
BLITZER: She's an amazing woman indeed --
JONES: Yes.
BLITZER: -- those of us who got to know her.
JONES: Yes.
BLITZER: You work for her.
JONES: Yes, tough --
BLITZER: So you got to know her a lot better.
JONES: Tough, tough.
BLITZER: She is pretty -- and it came through in her remarks just now.
JONES: Yes.
BLACKWELL: What did you think, David?
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I mean, I'm just can't stop looking at Malia and Sasha Obama. I just was pulling up the pictures of when they were 10 and 7 with their mom --
JONES: Wow.
CHALIAN: -- on the stage at the Denver Convention. And I remember, you know, Barack Obama was zoomed in by satellite. He was out on the campaign trail, not in Denver yet for the convention. And they said hello to him. And there was a moment where they sort of like introduced themselves.
And we watched these young women just grow from girls to young women to fully realized adults now. It kind of is an amazing thing to watch this be a family event as well, given the fact that it's obviously a national event.
[12:40:03]
BLITZER: It's a beautiful national event that's unfolding right now. And there's a lot more coming up, including some major musical presentations.
JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Can I just say, David, how old were they back then?
CHALIAN: 10 and 7.
GANGEL: And today they are 27 and 25.
CHALIAN: Wow.
GANGEL: So it's, you know, speaking of Valerie Jarrett, there was a line in her speech where she said, this is a campus for everybody.
JONES: Yes.
GANGEL: And I think that's what we're seeing throughout the center. I think it's important to note all private funding for this because of the digital nature. And, you know, there are all these exhibits. And as Doug Brinkley was saying, there are artifacts for people to come visit.
But someone asked me, why a digital archives? And it has to do with when he was president. It turns out that 95 percent of his presidential records were all digital to begin with. There simply wasn't the kind of paper being used in previous presidents. It changed in one presidency.
JONES: Yes.
BLITZER: You know, it's interesting because we're getting ready also pretty soon. We're going to be hearing Michelle Obama and Barack Obama deliver major speeches at this ceremony as well.
And think about that for a second. But I want to go back to the program and listen in right now.
JARRETT: Let me asked her to sing one of President Obama's favorite songs. She told us, well, I never sung it in public before, but she came up with a new arrangement just for this occasion. And we are so grateful.
Please welcome multi-Grammy award winning artist Christina Aguilera. Where are you, Christina?
CHRISTINA AGUILERA, MULTI-GRAMMY AWARD WINNING ARTIST: (SINGING)
[12:46:29]
AGUILERA: Thank you so much. Congratulations, President Obama and Michelle.
(APPLAUSE)
AGUILERA: President and Mrs. Obama have always shown us that hope isn't passive. It's something you show up for. For the past eight years --
BLITZER: That was pretty amazing. A beautiful, beautiful Christina Aguilera song that she sang. And the words were so meaningful as well.
JONES: Listen, obviously, and, you know, you got to think about the people who are out there. Some people are hearing this live. Can you imagine that voice hitting you live? Look, she's diving her eyes again.
BLITZER: In those words.
JONES: In those words. Michelle Obama is present, and she's feeling this. Can you imagine being her? And you were bragging on those girls. I mean, she had to raise those girls.
BLITZER: Sasha and Malia.
JONES: Sasha and Malia -- under massive spotlight, under massive, you know, and look at how they turned out. She's pulled off being an incredible wife, an incredible mom, an incredible leader in her own right.
BLITZER: An incredible First Lady.
JONES: Incredible First Lady, in her own right. I guarantee you, listen, Barack Obama sometimes says he doesn't like following Michelle Obama. When Michelle gets on the mic --
BLITZER: She's going to be speaking first, and then he's going to be speaking (ph).
JONES: I worry about Barack Obama. That might not be a good idea, because Michelle Obama is as good on the mic as he's on the mic.
BLITZER: Yes.
JONES: So -- but I love watching her watch this whole thing, and to see this dream come true. In that neighborhood, they had no money. In that neighborhood, they had no connections. They had a dream, and they had each other, and look a way they are -- look at where they are.
BLITZER: It's an amazing story. What are you think about it, David?
CHALIAN: It is. And it's also, you know, just given this period of time in history, to look at this convening of people. You know, there's Barack Obama sitting. His vice president, Joe Biden, is sitting up on the stage because he then served as president.
His secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, who was once his rival in 2008, and in her cabinet, is sitting up there because she was a First Lady. So even in this rarified President's Club, you actually have some of Barack Obama's closest advisers in his first term joining him on this stage for this moment as well.
BLITZER: And Bill Clinton is sitting there as well.
GANGEL: There was also a VIP tour. We would have all liked to have a fly on the wall. So right before the ceremony started, the Obamas gave a VIP tour to the President's Club, the people sitting there. And I am told, I don't know if we have the picture. There are some behind-the- scenes --
JONES: I would love to see that.
GANGEL: -- pictures.
JONES: I would love to see that.
GANGEL: -- of the tour, including a special one. So former President George W. Bush and former First Lady Michelle Obama have a special relationship.
JONES: Yes.
GANGEL: They really like each other. They joke around. They're --
CHALIAN: Due to the fact that protocol dictates at some of these events that they are seatmates next to each other, right? So they are very often seated next to each other at funerals or the like.
GANGEL: So Van, there was a moment at a funeral that everybody caught.
JONES: Yes.
GANGEL: Where --
JONES: You know, so George W. Bush passes an Altoid to Michelle Obama, and everybody just thought that it became this internet viral mega moment. And so now they have this, you know, a tradition, I guess, around these Altoids. And so my understanding is that he did it again, that George W. Bush pulled out the Altoids one more time. So hopefully we'll find the picture of that.
But I love the relationship. I love the presence all together.
[12:50:02]
And by the way, you know, Bill Clinton, he was the rock of this party. He was the anchor of this party for a very long time. While they were at the tug of war between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, he came in very, very strong for his wife. But now they are all, you know, two or three or four or five in a pod. And that's how it's supposed to be.
GANGEL: Can we just notice how emotional this moment is right now? President Obama put his arm around Michelle, seemed to be comforting her. You know, I wish I could lip read, but there clearly was a moment he realizes how emotional --
JONES: Yes.
GANGEL: -- this is for her. We don't always see that. Just on a personal note, there's one person who's not here today that I'm wondering if Michelle Obama isn't thinking about. And that's her mother --
JONES: Oh yes.
GANGEL: -- Mrs. Robinson.
JONES: Right, right.
GANGEL: -- who went and lived with them in the White House, helped raise the daughters and was such an integral part, an important part of their lives. She passed away in 2024.
CHALIAN: And we don't have to wonder if Mrs. Robinson is on her daughter's mind today. I mean, a couple of days ago in Chicago, in one of the events prior to the official dedication, she came out, the former First Lady did, in a skirt with a portrait, her favorite portrait of her mother on the skirt.
And you can see in the video of that moment a couple of days ago that Barack Obama was kind of surprised by that. He didn't have a lot of time to know that that was coming and got really emotional about it, which, of course, when they were telling that, it hearkens back to that incredible photograph on the night he was elected president of the United States and sitting in the hotel suite and watching Wolf, perhaps, call that he would become president of the United States.
And Marian Robinson, his mother-in-law, grabs his hand. And she had talked about the fact afterwards that in that moment, it occurred to her that his mother wasn't there for that moment right now. And she thought --
JONES: That's right.
CHALIAN: -- you know, he -- she thought he needed a mother's hand.
JONES: Yes. And also his grandmother had just passed away --
CHALIAN: Yes. JONES: -- earlier that week as well. And so -- and that's the role that she played. She was a strong, stabilizing force for them. And so who knows what the emotions are. But it's such a great example of what love can do. It's such a great example of what hope and faith can do.
Again, they didn't decide to put this in Washington, D.C. They could have put it anywhere they want to. They went back to the place that gave them their shot. And now they're giving a shot in the arm to that neighborhood.
And listen, it's one of those things where there are going to be people who go to that place. They're going to find inspiration. They're going to meet people they just know. And a lot of history is going to come out of that building. I love what you were saying earlier. They don't want this to be just a nostalgia tour. They want it to be a springboard to a better future.
And so that intention, the Obama intention that the future can be better than the past, everybody counts, everybody matters, let's all get together, is in the bricks and the mortar now of a building that will be there for a very long time.
CHALIAN: And everybody has responsibility.
JONES: Yes. Everybody has responsibility.
BLITZER: You know what's also so moving for me? That a lot of what the center has built up there is designed to encourage young kids --
JONES: Yes.
BLITZER: -- to show up as well. There's a playground --
CHALIAN: There's a -- Yes.
BLITZER: And there's a basketball court, an NBA basketball court. Young kids can come over there. They can go to the playground. And they can go play some basketball. And they can enjoy history and learn from that. And I think that's so powerful, so moving.
I don't know if the other libraries, presidential libraries --
JONES: I don't think --
BLITZER: -- have a basketball court or a playground.
JONES: I don't think so, sir. I'm sorry, I don't think so.
BLITZER: Yes.
JONES: Yes. You know, they just showed Eric Holder and some of the other folks. You know, Eric Holder is still involved in voting rights stuff. I mean, the Obama alumni are not just the ones up on stage. So I hadn't thought about what you said that, you know, literally, you know,y Hillary Clinton and President Joe Biden are a part of that. But you've got Obama alum all throughout that audience. And these are people who now are in elective office. They're people who are podcast people. They're people who are running foundations. They're people who are running not-for-profits.
You know, the Obama phenomenon, the ripples just go and go and go. And so to see all those folks come back together, and I cannot imagine the kind of the homecoming feeling. But listen, you said it yourself. He's, what did you say, 61?
GANGEL: Sixty-four.
JONES: Sixty-four years old. So, I mean, he's still young himself. And so, you know, 20 years from now, he could be at the 20-year anniversary of this thing with a bunch of his alumni that maybe haven't been president or governors or who knows what.
CHALIAN: I also just want to stress how important I think it is that the Bushes are there.
JONES: Yes.
CHALIAN: Not that they wouldn't be there. This is their kind of thing, but --
JONES: They rather --
CHALIAN: -- where we are in our politics and given how polarized the country is and given, obviously, the history with Trump, and it makes perfect sense that Donald Trump would not be invited to this event. The fact that the Bushes, and they've done this continually, still elevate above the partisanship to play the role of national leader and at the time for national leaders to come together.
[12:55:08]
I just think that's so critical for our country to still see, because so many people in this country -- and by the way, on both sides of the aisle, think our politics are so irreparably toxic and broken that it's just a really -- given the makeup of our former living presidents, and there's only -- they're all Democrats now, except for the Bushes. I think it's so crucial that they continue to play that role.
BLITZER: And many, many thousands and thousands of people have gathered there, as you can see, getting ready to hear from the former president and former first lady. There are three former presidents who are there, three former first ladies, a long list of prominent Democrats and celebrities alike.
Let's take a quick break, resume our very special coverage right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
