Trump wants $2.6bn for his own presidential museum

Letters from Kim Jong-un, a piece of border wall, a replica escalator: what Trump wants in biggest presidential centre ever.

US President Donald Trump participates in a ceremony commemorating the 200th mile of border wall at the international border with Mexico in San Luis, Arizona, in June 23, 2020, right, and inset — a translated letter from Kim Jong-un he'd like to see in a museum. Pictures: AFP/Supplied

It could contain a section of reinforced border wall, tribute letters from Kim Jong-un in North Korea and a replica of the Trump Tower escalator that featured in his presidential campaign launch in 2015.

President Trump, who will enjoy his last full day in office on Tuesday, has discussed plans for a memorial library and museum with a budget of $AU2.6 billion; bigger than that of any previous presidential centre.

Mr Trump, 74, wants to tell the story of his presidency from his perspective. He is seeking a location in Florida, and his close aide Dan Scavino is expected to be put in charge of the project, according to The Washington Post.

Mr Scavino, 44, is Mr Trump’s social media director and deputy chief-of-staff for communications. All American presidents since Franklin D Roosevelt have raised funds to build a repository for personal papers as well as documents and artefacts connected with their time in the White House.

A supporter of Donald Trump rides the escalator at Trump Tower. Picture: Drew Angerer/Getty Images/AFP

This has led to a series of increasingly grandiose projects, the most ambitious to date being the $AU1.95 billion Obama Presidential Center, which is planned as a regeneration project for Chicago’s impoverished South Side. The building cost is put at $AU648 million with an endowment of at least $AU 1.3 billion required to run it.

Such projects have been called “America’s pyramids” by Richard J Cox, a historian at the University of Pittsburgh, because of the number of visitors they attract but also because they tend to be self-aggrandising.

Fundraisers sceptical

Jonathan Zimmerman, a University of Pennsylvania historian, said they were undemocratic because “they allow our presidents, not the people who elected them, to define their legacies”. Fundraisers are sceptical that Mr Trump will be able to raise the amount he wants for the greatest presidential memorial of them all.

“I thought to myself, what is this alternative fantasy life you’re living?” one told The Washington Post. “I have no clue where they think they’ll get this money raised. Anyone who gives to him will be radioactive.”

The difficulty in raising cash after leaving office has led recent presidents to turn to foreign donors. Bill Clinton’s presidential library in Little Rock, Arkansas, is said to have received $AU13 million from Saudi Arabia and $AU583,000 from Denise Rich, the ex-wife of Marc Rich, the commodities trader and prolific Democratic donor who was pardoned by Mr Clinton at the end of his term. The George HW Bush Presidential Library Foundation also received gifts from foreign governments, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Mr Bush pardoned Edwin Cox Jr, who had been convicted of bank fraud, and then received between $AU130,000 and $AU324,000 for his library from Edwin Cox Sr, a Texas businessman and party donor.

The Times