President Donald Trump on Tuesday added a new wrinkle to plans for his presidential library in Miami.
And it’s one he could potentially use to make some extra cash.
“I don’t believe in building libraries or museums,” Trump told reporters as he mocked the “very unattractive” library for former President Barack Obama under construction in Chicago that’s behind schedule and over budget.
Trump said his library will not only be better but have something found in no other presidential library.
“It’s gonna be most likely a hotel,” Trump said. “Could be office, but it’s most likely gonna be a hotel with a beautiful building underneath.”
A video teaser released earlier this week showed the library complete with gold statues of Trump, a former Air Force One jet, and a giant video screen outside showing his face.
But one feature that was especially striking to observers was its size: the building is a skyscraper, and based on the renderings will likely be one of the taller buildings in the city.
Son Eric Trump, who announced the plans earlier this week, told the Miami Herald it won’t be residential space.
Now, the president said it could be a hotel, which would be an unusual arrangement given that the library foundation itself is a nonprofit entity.
However, The New York Times said this week that the agreement transferring the land from a community college to the state of Florida to the library foundation only requires a library or museum on certain parts of the site. That, the newspaper reported, would allow for a for-profit entity to also operate there.
The newspaper said the land was valued at $67 million but believed to be worth far more.
The president’s critics weren’t exactly surprised by his plans:
