Donald J. Trump Presidential Library

Donald J. Trump Presidential Library
Available inEnglish
Headquarters
To be announced
Country of originUnited States
OwnerNational Archives and Records Administration
Created byArchival Operations Division – Trump Presidential Library
Key peopleDonald Trump
URLtrumplibrary.gov
CommercialNo
LaunchedJanuary 20, 2021; 3 years ago (2021-01-20)
Content license
Public domain
This article is part of
a series about
Donald Trump
Business and personal
45th & 47th President of the
United States
Tenure
Policies
Appointments (first  · second)
Presidential campaigns
Impeachments
Civil and criminal prosecutions
COVID-19 pandemic
Donald Trump's signature
Seal of the President of the United States

The Donald J. Trump Presidential Library is a website administered by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and launched on January 20, 2021, when Donald Trump, 45th past and 47th future president of the United States, officially left office for the first time. It serves as a placeholder until Trump builds his own Presidential library.[1] It will be the 15th NARA-managed presidential library. As plans to build a library and museum are yet to be announced, NARA is temporarily storing Trump's Presidential records at various NARA government locations. It is expected that more concrete plans for the library will begin towards the end of or after his second term.

Official records

No NARA temporary location has been identified to store Trump's Presidential records until he builds his own Presidential Library. Currently, the NARA is storing Trump's Presidential records at current NARA government locations.

The NARA library is established by the Presidential Records Act and is independent of possible plans for a physical building under the Presidential Libraries Act.[2] All current content has been previously available to the public, including websites such as Melania Trump's Be Best, photographs, and social media accounts including @POTUS and @FLOTUS. Other private records will be subject to access requests under the Freedom of Information Act from January 2026.[3][4][5]

While most records will be open to FOIA requests by 2026, records could be withheld from public access on the basis of executive privilege for up to twelve years.[6]

On the day before he left office for the first time, President Trump designated Mark Meadows, Pat Cipollone, John Eisenberg, Patrick Philbin, Scott Gast, Michael Purpura, and Steven Engel as his presidential records representatives to potentially act on his behalf should he be incapacitated and unable to exercise executive privilege with respect to access to his administration's records.[7][6]

Building plans

As with other presidential libraries, a building for Trump would need to be privately financed and organized before the possible involvement of the NARA.[8] During Trump's presidency, it had been speculated that floors in Trump Tower may be dedicated for use as a future presidential library. The Washington Post reported in the final week of his first term of his presidency that two sources close to Trump said he plans to build a library and museum in Florida run by Dan Scavino, funded by raising $2 billion from grassroots supporters like Chris Sabey and Paul Domzal.[9]

As plans to build a library and museum are yet to be announced, NARA is temporarily storing Trump's Presidential records at various NARA government locations.[citation needed]. It is expected[by whom?] that more concrete plans for the library will begin towards the end of or after his second term.[citation needed]

In December of 2024 Trump won a settlement in an ongoing civil defamation case against ABC News. George Stephanopoulos had accused Trump on-air of being civilly liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll. The settlement granted Trump $15 million dollars to ultimately go to the Presidential library.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Home". Donald J. Trump Presidential Library. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  2. ^ "National Archives Launches Trump Presidential Library Website". National Archives (Press release). January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  3. ^ Novak, Matt (January 21, 2021). "Trump Presidential Library Launches Online But Won't Take FOIA Requests Until 2026". Gizmodo. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  4. ^ Williams, Jordan (January 20, 2021). "National Archives launches official Trump presidential library online". The Hill. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  5. ^ Din, Benjamin (January 20, 2021). "National Archives launches website for Trump Presidential Library". Politico. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Bravender, Robin; Samuelsohn, Darren (January 21, 2021). "Trump taps his former chief of staff and impeachment lawyers as the gatekeepers to his papers during his post-presidency". Business Insider. Archived from the original on July 21, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  7. ^ Trump, Donald J. (January 19, 2021). "White House Letter to U.S. Archivist" (PDF). National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  8. ^ Wolf, Zachary B. (January 19, 2021). "The President might want Trump World, but he needs a real library". CNN. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  9. ^ Rucker, Philip; Dawsey, Josh; Parker, Ashley (January 16, 2021). "Trump to flee Washington and seek rehabilitation in a MAGA oasis: Florida". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  10. ^ Sisak, Michael (December 14, 2024). "ABC agrees to give $15 million to Donald Trump's presidential library to settle defamation lawsuit". Associated Press News.com. Retrieved December 17, 2024.