The impending grand opening of the Obama Presidential Center on the South Side of Chicago has triggered a lot of nostalgia within the Elitist Media. This is particularly true at Democrat propaganda arm MS NOW, where Barack Obama is revered as a god-king.
And with the God-King gone from power for nearly a decade, MS Now viewers may feel some sort of way. They may even feel like America 250 might not be appropriate to celebrate. Don’t fret, though. Luke Russert offers a glimmer of HOPE™:
WATCH: MS NOW's Luke Russert calls the UFC White House event a "debacle" and "disgusting event", and urges those who feel "it's not a good time to celebrate the country" to let the Obama Presidential Center "speak for you":
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) June 18, 2026
LUKE RUSSERT: You think about the week we've had.… pic.twitter.com/8wtdmv9jbQ
LUKE RUSSERT: You think about the week we've had.
SANDERS-TOWNSEND: Talk about it, Luke.
RUSSERT: And you had the UFC just-
SANDERS-TOWNSEND: Debacle.
RUSSERT: This debacle- disgusting event that was on The White House grounds on Sunday night. And then on Juneteenth, this Obama presidential library is going to open. And that's to some degree, the story of America is in there. And President Obama had always said that the greatness of America was that a guy like him could become President. And that is something that I think that this Center will immortalize forever. The promise of America resides there. And I look at it and I'm thinking and watching that clip with Michele, which is so wonderful. Think of the empathy that came from this man. And he did that every single evening. His way of connecting with average Americans. We don't see that anymore at all.
(CROSSTALK)
RUSSERT: We don't care about the average Americans anymore. And I'll just say this. For a lot of people who might be feeling that America 250 is just not getting off on the right foot, it's not a good time to celebrate this country, let this moment speak for you. Because this is something that every American can be proud of. Because this is a rare thing to happen in a very young country and in the world leading democracy, who we hope to be the leading democracy.
In order to build the Obama Center up as an alternative celebration, Russert first had to tear down the patriotic celebration that was UFC Freedom 250. Which makes sense because if you’re not into America 250, then you’re really not going to be into the UFC White House event. And of course, there is the rank hypocrisy of criticizing the UFC card as some sort of desecration of The White House, “disgusting” to use Russert’s language, while the previous administration had topless transgenders on that same White House lawn. But we digress.
MS NOW elitists here convey that an America where the left is out of power and not running amok is not worth celebrating. The Obama Center here stands in as a sanctuary of sorts, where Russert and his ilk can indulge their historic ache for a return of Hope and Change.
Russert offers the Obama Center as a refuge where people can alternatively celebrate- not the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding, but the public opening of the god-king’s very own temple: a place where MS Now’s viewers can feel a pride that they may not feel for their county. Hope and Change as an alternate founding. Obama might be out of office for nearly a decade, but his cultists in the Elitist Media remain as committed as ever.
Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned segment as aired on MS Now’s The Weeknight on Wednesday, June 17th, 2026:
MICHAEL STEELE: Tomorrow is the dedication ceremony of the Obama Presidential Center. We're excited about that and The Weeknight will be live in Chicago to cover the event. The Center's 19.3 acre campus has a public library, athletic center, and a museum that houses a replica of the Oval Office. But there's one exhibit President Barack Obama hopes people will take just a little bit of time to seek out. Here's what he told MS NOW's Michele Norris exclusively.
BARACK OBAMA: The exhibition team made this wonderful short video. This vignette of- of a few of those letters and- and whenever I watch those, because it's a mother talking about, you know, Mr. President, I'm struggling” and it's a, a- a vet, you know, who's still trying to find his path after he's no longer serving. And people are really raw in their emotions in some of these letters, partly because they don't expect the president's actually going to read it. It's almost like a- a meditation for them, a- a way of getting stuff off their chest. And- and so whenever I watch that, I get kinda...
MICHELE NORRIS: Yeah, I can see that you get…
OBAMA: Yeah, I get choked up.
STEELE: It's clear that this- this, and this should be- the opening of your presidential library is a very personal journey as much as it is for the public. You know, it's a, it's for us to sort of go back and relive some of that history. And then for people who are doing research and things like that to go and study his presidency. But you can see from President Obama- and the same was true for- for President George W. Bush. It's a very personal thing for- for them in so many ways.
SYMONE SANDERS-TOWNSEND: It's also I mean, Mrs. Obama talked about this last night. They did an event for some- the folks that helped make the Obama Presidential Center possible. And she said that it means so much that this is also on the South Side of Chicago. Her as a South Side Chicago native, and talked about the importance of where it was.
STEELE: They went and invested in that area. (CROSSTALK)
SANDERS-TOWNSEND: Very much so. I mean, it changed. I had the opportunity to go to the Presidential Center about a month or so ago. Sean and I took our moms and we took Little Sean, and it was just remarkable. And there are so many new things at the Center since we have been. But one of the things that stood out to me was there's a- these big words on a wall, and it says, "I am asking you to believe not in my ability to bring about change, but in yours.” And that's from Obama's farewell address in 2017. And I think the whole idea of the Center- because there’s a library, his presidential library, there's an actual public library on the grounds where the public can just go in and go to the library. There's a restaurant, obviously a very nice gift shop, but I think the whole idea is reminding people what is possible in the United States of America, because we are living in a time. Again, it's like…
STEELE: Where the possibilities are…
SANDERS-TOWNSEND: …being… Well, the possibilities feel like they don't exist. But being there, it was like being on Earth Three. I was in there like, oh wow! Then I came out, I was like, what the (...) going on?
LUKE RUSSERT: You think about the week we've had.
SANDERS-TOWNSEND: Talk about it, Luke.
RUSSERT: And you had the UFC just-
SANDERS-TOWNSEND: Debacle.
RUSSERT: This debacle- disgusting event that was on The White House grounds on Sunday night. And then on Juneteenth, this Obama presidential library is going to open. And that's to some degree, the story of America is in there. And President Obama had always said that the greatness of America was that a guy like him could become President. And that is something that I think that this Center will immortalize forever. The promise of America resides there. And I look at it and I'm thinking and watching that clip with Michele, which is so wonderful. Think of the empathy that came from this man. And he did that every single evening. His way of connecting with average Americans. We don't see that anymore at all.
(CROSSTALK)
RUSSERT: We don't care about the average Americans anymore. And I'll just say this. For a lot of people who might be feeling that America 250 is just not getting off on the right foot, it's not a good time to celebrate this country, let this moment speak for you. Because this is something that every American can be proud of. Because this is a rare thing to happen in a very young country and in the world leading democracy, who we hope to be the leading democracy.
STEELE: And that- and that's such an important point because it really is in many respects, as much a part of the celebration of 250 years. Right? But given how I mean, not just, you know, folks who are like, “oh, Trump”, but a lot of Americans who aren't paying attention to politics the way we do.
RUSSERT: Yeah.
STEELE: Look at this, this celebration. They do feel somewhat alienated from it. They do see this outsized veneration of Donald Trump, which is not what they want to celebrate. And I think that's this moment, as you rightly put it, happening on Juneteenth. Juneteenth is going to be so profoundly cool because, you know, one thing I loved about Obama during the time he and I were going toe to toe was the beige suit, baby. You look good in that beige suit. Don't let nobody fool you.
RUSSERT: We got Stevie Wonder and Springsteen while the president has Vanilla Ice.
STEELE: There you go. There you go. Make sure, folks, to tune in to MS NOW Friday at 9 P.M. Eastern for Michele Norris’s special behind-the-scenes look at the Obama Presidential Center featuring exclusive interviews: the former President, the First Lady, and members of their inner circle.
