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By Jenna Sundel and John Feng
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Florida officials voted Tuesday to set aside nearly three acres in downtown Miami as a potential site for the future presidential library of President Donald Trump.
Why It Matters
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet unanimously approved the transfer of a parcel of downtown Miami property appraised at $66 million to Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation, Inc., the foundation that’s planning the president’s post-administration archives.
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“It will be the greatest Presidential Library ever built, honoring the greatest President our Nation has ever known,” Eric Trump, the president’s son and foundation trustee, said on X.
The Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation is led by three trustees: Eric Trump, Tiffany Trump’s husband, Michael Boulos, and Trump attorney James Kiley.
What To Know
The land is currently owned by Miami Dade College, and the college has used it as an employee parking lot. It sits next to the historic Freedom Tower on Biscayne Boulevard.
Under Florida’s constitution, the gifting of certain state properties must be approved by a decision-making body comprised of the governor, attorney general, chief financial officer and commissioner of agriculture.
DeSantis signed a bill earlier this year that prevents local governments from blocking the development of a presidential library, aiming to block potential political opposition from liberal-leaning counties or municipalities.
Trump’s presidential library would be the smallest in acreage for any modern presidential site at 2.63 acres, The Palm Beach Post reported. Gerald Ford’s 6-acre museum is currently the smallest, not including an archival center located about 130 miles away.
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What is a Presidential Library?
Presidential libraries are archives and museums that hold documents and artifacts of a president and the president’s administration for the public to access, according to the National Archives website.
When Was Miami Dade College's Freedom Tower Built?
The Freedom Tower was completed in 1925. It was originally home to one of Miami’s first newspapers before serving as a resource center for hundreds of thousands of Cubans who fled communism and sought asylum in the U.S.
It is now a museum operated by Miami Dade College. The landmark has also been the site of protests against President Trump’s immigration enforcement policies.
From Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama: List of Previous Presidential Library Locations
- Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum: West Branch, Iowa
- Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum: Hyde Park, New York
- Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum: Independence, Missouri
- Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum: Abilene, Kansas
- John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum: Boston, Massachusetts
- Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and Museum: Austin, Texas
- Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum: Yorba Linda, California
- Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library: Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum: Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum: Atlanta, Georgia
- Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum: Simi Valley, California
- George Bush Presidential Library and Museum: College Station, Texas
- William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum: Little Rock, Arkansas
- George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum: Dallas, Texas
- Barack Obama Presidential Library and Museum: Hoffman Estates, Illinois
National Archives said on its website that former President Joe Biden “has not yet indicated his intentions with regard to a Presidential Library.”
What People Are Saying
Eric Trump, President Donald Trump’s son and Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation trustee, on X: “Consistent with our families DNA, this will be one of the most beautiful buildings ever built, an Icon on the Miami skyline – – rest assured it will not look like President Obama ‘prison like structure.’”
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, on X: “President Trump has reshaped skylines, economies, and history itself — and now his legacy will have a permanent home in the city that embodies American ambition. This is a proud day for Miami, where the Trump Presidential Library will stand as a symbol of what it means to build boldly, lead decisively, and believe that America’s greatest chapters are still being written.”
What Happens Next
The land transaction requires the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation to start construction of the library and a museum within five years, Politico reported.
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