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 ImagesFormer President Barack Obama 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 in Chicago on Thursday, in remarks that never explicitly referenced the current President but at multiple points appeared to direct criticism toward his Administration.Noting the upcoming 250th birthday 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 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 after the people have spoken in fair and free elections.”Read More: Why Obama’s Presidential ‘Library’ May Be the Last Normal OneThe ceremony marking the opening of the Barack Obama Presidential Center was filled with well-known faces. Musical artists including Bono, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, and John Legend delivered performances around Obama’s address. Former Presidents Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush were also in attendance and on stage with the Obama family, along with their respective First Ladies Jill Biden, Hillary Clinton, and Laura Bush. 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 and Mitt Romney, 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. 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.