Trump library is over the top, even for Miami
Tower to dwarf building honoring immigrant history with golden statue, jumbo screens
ANOTHER VIEW| MIAMI HERALD
Miami is no stranger to excess. In this city, gaudy isn't so much an insult as a way of life. But even in a place known for Lamborghinis, Brazilian butt lifts and wannabe billionaires, President Donald Trump's planned presidential library stands out.
The Trump Library Foundation recently released the first rendering of the downtown building, accompanied by an online video. The images are entirely on brand.
The library is a representation treated the same way he's treated his elected office: as an extension of himself. This is, after all, the president who is putting his signature on dollar bills and whose allies and administration have added his name to the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and have put up banners with his face on federal buildings in the nation's capital.
The Trump library, built on public land given to his foundation at no cost, will overlook Biscayne Bay and be as tall or nearly as tall as anything around it in downtown Miami. In typical Trump Tower fashion, the signature logo "TRUMP" will sit atop the building. The rendering shows it dwarfing Miami's iconic Freedom Tower, a symbol of the city's immigrant history, whose overshadowing by a president in charge of mass deportations is symbolic.
Then there's the giant golden Trump statue with a fist raised inside the building's ballroom. It's unclear from the video how many statues there will be. Will the president, like a Roman emperor, overlook the city? Jumbo video screens show Trump's face on the exterior of his library.
Flashy exterior aside, what should irk Miamians the most isn't the project's aesthetics but how this came to be. Miami Dade College, a public institution, purchased the downtown land in 2004 and tried to develop it to support students in 2016, but that deal fell through.
It's not unusual for public entities to donate property for presidential libraries. But last September, the college's Board of Trustees voted — after little discussion — to transfer the land for the state to give to Trump's library foundation.
No public documents outlined specific benefits or concessions for the college in return for its 2.6 acres of prime real estate . The property is worth at least $67 million — and that may be a conservative estimate.
Supporters are right that presidential libraries can be an economic boost for communities. This project will certainly attract attention and visitors to South Florida. It also has some interesting features, such as replicas of the Oval Office, the Rose Garden and Air Force One, according to the renderings.
Presidential libraries are built for purposes of history and public education. In the end, though, this presidential library may become a representation of the Trump presidency's lack of temperance and moderation. Even in Miami, a city where restraint is sometimes a bad word, this project is over the top.
