California Governor Gavin Newsom tore into Donald Trump after the president revealed that his towering presidential library may wind up functioning as another Trump-branded hotel.
“All this family does is grift off the government,” the governor, a frequent Trump critic who is seen as a potential Democratic presidential contender in 2028, wrote on X Tuesday. “Has any family relied more on the government than the Trumps?”
His remarks came in response to Trump’s earlier announcement that his proposed presidential library in Miami, Florida, would break from all previous models.
“I don't believe in building libraries or museums,” the president told reporters in the Oval Office. “It’s most likely going to be a hotel with a beautiful building underneath and a 747 Air Force One in the lobby.”
The proposed 47-floor Trump building will be erected on public land, a prized 2.6‑acre plot donated by Florida after Miami Dade College voted to transfer the parcel to the state, according to Politico.
Revenue from the hotel would be directed to the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Fund, which will be overseen by members of the president’s family, The Daily Beast reported.
“It’ll go up on time, on budget,” Trump said, adding that construction would not begin until after he leaves office.
Trump also ridiculed former President Barack Obama’s newly completed presidential center in Chicago, a granite monolith, which he claimed was “seriously over budget.”
On Tuesday, the president posted an AI-generated video of his planned library, a towering glass skyscraper that bears a striking resemblance to One World Trade Center in New York City.
The colossal tower may climb as high as 47 stories — a nod to Trump being the nation’s 47th president. Renderings feature a red‑white‑and‑blue spire and the word “TRUMP” emblazoned across the upper floors, while the exterior is accented with an American flag, palm trees, reflective pools and an enormous gilded entrance.
The lower floors would be filled with various aircraft, including a full-size replica of Air Force One in the lobby. Trump previously indicated this could be the same $400 million 747 gifted to him by Qatar.
The video also showed off a cavernous auditorium complete with an oversized golden statue of Trump defiantly throwing his fist into the air.
In an earlier post on X, Newsom wrote that the sculpture “looks awfully familiar to a few others from around the world.” His post included images of golden statues of dictators Mao Zedong and Kim Jong Un.
The building is also set to include recreations of certain aspects of the White House, including Trump’s maximalist Oval Office and his under-construction ballroom.
The video of the planned presidential library did not include any trace of the books or archives one would normally expect to find there.
There are 16 presidential libraries and museums in the U.S., documenting presidents from Herbert Hoover to Joe Biden, according to the National Archives. Texas has the distinction of hosting the largest number of presidential libraries: those of Lyndon B. Johnson, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.
Trump’s library will be Florida’s first.
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