Former President Barack Obama, once a literal superstar among leftists, appears to be losing his momentum after major setbacks in preserving his legacy, including issues with his presidential library and museum, The Daily Caller reported. The project is over budget and has taken five years to commence due to lawsuits and concerns about its impact on the neighborhood.

Obama was the king of cool when he was in the White House, but times have certainly changed since the 2010s. This won't bode well for the notoriously haughty former president, as he watches his legacy project crash and burn on the South Side of Chicago.

The multimillion-dollar project has many problems, but the most fundamental is that it's an eyesore. Commentator Benny Johnson interviewed people on the street, who shared their thoughts about the ugly building, with some describing it as a "prison," a " block of marble," and a "mausoleum."

I asked Chicago residents what Obama’s new presidential library looks like.

Number one response: “A prison”

Other answers:

- Garbage can
- a Rock
- Block of Marble
- Tardis
- Mountain
- ATC Tower
- Mausoleum
- a Jail

Totally Humiliating.
What do you think it looks like? pic.twitter.com/mT5kZseX09

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) August 20, 2025

Mounting issues

Not only is this building aesthetically unappealing, but it has also come with a myriad of problems from planning to construction. The sad, gray tower, which gobbled up 19 acres in the city, has displaced residents as it drives up rents and property values in the community, which is now undergoing gentrification.

There are also ballooning costs and underfunding in the project, which could be passed on to taxpayers. The president's libray and museum was first announced in 2015 with an original estimate at $300 million, but that figure increased to $500 million by the time the plans were finalized in 2017.

It took another four years before they finally broke ground, due to several lawsuits and continued pushback from residents worried about the impact on their neighborhood. By the time, the price tag had more than doubled from the original figures, coming in at $700 million.

These increased costs come as a funding shortfall appears to be developing, which could potentially put a strain on local taxpayers who will be expected to foot the bill despite promises that it would be fully funded. The 2021 budget revealed that operating costs are expected to exceed $40 million in the first year alone.

The original target for the Obama Foundation endowment to cover these costs was set at $470 million. Now it appears that the organization would need between $800 million and $1 billion to fully fund the library and museum. Unfortunately, the Obama Foundation has raised only a fraction of the amount originally estimated and has collected only $1 million of the pledged money for the endowment.

Election loss

Kamala Harris's disappointing showing in the 2024 presidential election was more than a loss for the then-vice president; it was a significant setback for all those who got behind her. Obama joined the chorus of Democrats claiming that Joe Biden was fit to run for reelection. In the final push for the White House, Obama inserted himself into the race in the hopes of bolstering her chances of winning. It did not.

According to Fox News, this triggered the Democratic Party to take an honest look at Obama and his true legacy, which included the election of President Donald Trump as his successor. Heavy hitters, including the former president, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, didn't move the needle for Harris despite their combined gravitas.

"I think there are going to be big demands for a greater reckoning," Julian Epstein, Democratic strategist, told the news outlet. "The Democratic politburo – Obama, Pelosi, Schumer, Jeffries, and others – all participated in the obvious lie that Biden was capable of a second term, in the anti-Democratic move to install a wholly untested Vice President Harris," Epstein said.

"And in lacking the courage for the past four years to stand up to a progressive left whose policies are far out of touch with most voters. They all failed the test of leadership in this respect," the political strategist added.

Obama was thought to be the pinnacle of success and was expected to usher in a new era of Democratic dominance in America. Instead, he gave us Trump and has continued to suffer several blows to his legacy as people, even in his own party, figure out that he was a terrible president.